Victory’ over Japanese whalers
Environmentalists
in Japan are claiming a rare victory after five key private companies
quit the whaling business following a pressure campaign.
The
firms said they will transfer their shares in the country’s largest
whaling fleet to public interest corporations.Greenpeace claims it is
global pressure from consumers that has forced the financial backers to
pull out.But the companies deny this and Japan’s government says the
transfer of shares will not affect its policies.
The companies own
shares in a firm which operates seven of the eight ships in Japan’s
whaling fleet.The new shareholders will include the Japanese government
agency that promotes whaling. On the face of it this will not change
much.The Japanese fleet will continue to hunt for whales. But
environmentalists insist this is a victory.
Pressure point
One of the private firms that is dumping its shares is a huge Japanese fishing company called Nissui.
Three
months ago campaigners in Australia, New Zealand, Argentina and the
United States began to put pressure on its subsidiaries, protesting
against the parent company’s connection with whaling.
Although
Nissui like the other four firms says the campaign has nothing to do
with its decision to pull out of the business, a statement from one of
its subsidiaries expressed hope that it would shift the demonstrators’
focus from the company.Greenpeace activists, who harassed the Japanese
whaling fleet earlier this year, said they had taken the fight from the
high seas to the supermarket shelves.Japan insists that efforts to hunt
whales will be redoubled. From now on, whaling will be seen as
something backed by the whole of Japan, not just private firms, an
official said.