The International Whaling Commission ended its annual session in Berlin last week after approving stronger protective measures, including a resolution calling for the creation of a conservation committee. The meeting, as ever dominated by antiwhaling nations, was yet another blow to Japan's long-standing desire to resume commercial whaling.
The government has long been trying to achieve that aim by securing support from IWC members. Now, however, that consensual approach appears to be at a crossroads. At a news conference following the end of the acrimonious meeting, Japan's chief delegate, Mr. Minoru Morimoto, said Japan will consider reviewing its relationship with the IWC, suggesting that it could pull out of the 48-member organization.
One of the IWC's stated objectives is to promote sustainable utilization of cetacean resources. That objective, however, looks almost irrelevant in the face of overwhelming opposition to commercial whaling. Debates between prowhaling and antiwhaling members appear to be going nowhere, as the "save-the-whale" group rejects scientific findings that clearly show whale stocks increasing.