If there is one group that has vociferously carved out an antiwhaling niche -- globally, but especially in Japan -- it is Greenpeace.
The organization's activities and antics have been a thorn in the side of the government and those in favor of whaling, and Junko Sakurai, of Greenpeace Japan's antiwhaling campaign, is blunt in her assessment of the group's position.
"We are against resuming commercial whaling because it has not worked in the past," she said. "As long as whaling is based on profit, we believe it will exceed the ability of whales to reproduce."