Despite Denmark's recent rejection of Japan’s extradition request for anti-whaling activist Paul Watson, who was apprehended in July based on a 2012 Interpol arrest warrant issued by Tokyo, and a near worldwide consensus opposing whale hunting, Japan shows no signs of halting its whaling industry.
On the contrary, the country even launched a brand-new whaling ship, the Kangei Maru, which will be able to process a vast quantity of whale meat.
To defend this position, Japan argues that whaling is part of its history and culture, while stressing industry needs and food security. Yet, behind Watson’s arrest and release from a prison in Greenland — the Japanese government had accused him of damaging a whaling ship in 2010 in the Antarctic and injuring a crew member with a stink bomb — lies a broader concern that has less to do with embedded cultural tradition and more to do with making a statement about Japan’s maritime sovereignty.
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