SCIENCE OR SUSTENANCE?

‘ASKING Japan to abandon this part of its culture would compare to Australians being asked to stop eating meat pies, Americans being asked to stop eating hamburgers and the English being asked to go without fish and chips.’’

This is what the Japan Whaling Association argues, in a statement on its English-language website.

Industrial whaling in Japan can be traced back to the Edo period (1603-1867).

The system was invented by a warlord who saw it as a source of income for his town, which had been crippled by civil war.

Whaling took off around the western regions of Japan.

Then, in the face of extreme food shortages after World War II, United States General Douglas MacArthur encouraged Japan to revive whaling nationwide.

Whale meat was a cheap source of protein to feed millions of starving people, and the government introduced it into school lunchboxes.

But tastes have changed, and now younger Japanese generations have little or no experience of the whale meat their grandparents grew up with.

‘‘Many old men who support whaling are nostalgic about the old times,’’ says Japan-based Dolphin and Whale Action Network secretary-general Nanami Kurasawa.

‘‘I think Japanese people are not as uncomfortable, compared to foreign people, seeing whale as a type of seafood. But this does not mean many Japanese eat it – generally not many people eat it.’’

The organisation estimates the average amount of whale meat a Japanese person eats in a year is 23.7 grams – a wafer-thin slice.

They say there is an increasing stockpile of unsold frozen whale meat.

The Institute of Cetacean Research, which carries out the scientific whaling, rubbishes these claims. Its New Zealand spokesman, Glenn Inwood, says there are also thousands of tonnes of frozen beef and pork in storage in Japan, but that doesn’t mean people don’t eat those meats.

The institute maintains a Japanese website – Whale Alley – which promotes whale meat as a healthy food option.

It contains a database of whale meat suppliers and restaurants around the country, and advertises whale markets and festivals. It also has recipes and suggests how to make use of every part of a whale.

International Whaling Commission figures show there are an abundance of minke whales, Mr Inwood says.

He argues, why shouldn’t they be used for food?

Japan is not alone in its views. Iceland and Norway are both known to hunt a few hundred whales a year commercially. They objected to the international whaling ban and do not consider themselves bound by it.

‘‘Anti-whaling is not world opinion. In fact, many countries around the world use whales and small cetaceans for food,’’ Mr Inwood says. ‘‘Even among populations that do not use whales for food there is widespread support for the principle of sustainable use of resources, including whales.’’