O 080900Z JAN 85
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 5749
USDOC WASHDC IMMEDIATE
INFO AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 
AMEMBASSY BRASILIA

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TOKYO 00364 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR OES/OFA/OPA, EAP/J 
USDOC FOR NOAA ADMINISTRATOR CALIO AND FOR 
NOAA/NMFS TO PASS TO F/M321 
 
E.O. 12356:  DECL:  OADR 
TAGS: EFIS JA IWC
SUBJECT:  GOJ WHALING 
 
REF:  STATE 5140 
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¶1.  (C) SUMMARY.  POST DELIVERS WHALE TALKING POINTS 
IN REFTEL TO GOJ OFFICIALS IN MOFA.  MOFA OFFICIALS 
QUESTION USG CALCULATION OF GOJ QUOTA UNDER "PAST 
PRACTICES" FORMULA.  GOJ HAS NOT MADE DECISION 
REGARDING ACTUAL NUMBER OF WHALES TO BE HARVESTED 
BY ANTARCTIC FLEET THIS SEASON, BUT GOJ AND USSR 
OFFICIALS HAVE EXCHANGED "EXPRESSIONS OF INTENTION" 
NOT TO EXCEED LAST YEAR'S HARVESTS.  TOTAL COASTAL 
SPERM WHALE CATCH AS OF JANUARY 7 IS 106 WHALES. 
END SUMMARY. 
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¶2.  (C) ON JANUARY 8, REGFISHATT MET WITH SUSUMU 
AKIYAMA AND KENRO IINO, DIRECTOR AND DEPUTY DIRECTOR 
RESPECTIVELY OF THE FISHERY DIVISION OF THE ECONOMIC 
AFFAIRS BUREAU OF THE MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS (MOFA), 
AND DELIVERED A COPY OF THE FIVE TALKING POINTS 
GIVEN IN PARA 3 OF REFTEL.  BOTH INDICATED THE 
TALKING POINTS WOULD BE DISCUSSED FURTHER WITHIN 
MOFA AND WITH OFFICIALS OF THE FISHERY AGENCY OF 
JAPAN (FAJ).  IINO NOTED IMMEDIATELY THAT FAJ 
OFFICIALS HAVE BEEN EMPHASIZING THE IMPORTANCE OF 
CONSULTATIONS REGARDING THE WHALING ISSUE WITH USG 
OFFICIALS.  AKIYAMA STATED THAT "NO DECISION HAS 
BEEN MADE" IN GOJ REGARDING THE ACTUAL NUMBER OF 
WHALES TO BE HARVESTED IN THE ANTARCTIC BY THE 
JAPANESE FLEET THIS SEASON.  HE MENTIONED THREE 
FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED IN DECIDING AN "APPROPRIATE" 
HARVEST AS FOLLOWS: 
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(A) THE MOST RECENT HARVEST LEVELS SET BY THE 
INTERNATIONAL WHALING COMMISSION (IWC) THAT HAD 
BEEN ACCEPTED BY GOJ (I.E., THE 1984 SEASON OVERALL 
QUOTA OF 3,027); 
- 
(B) CONSULTATIONS WITH CONCERNED COUNTRIES; AND 
- 
(C) THE FINDINGS OF THE IWC SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE 
AT THE 1984 IWC MEETING. 
- 
HE FURTHER MENTIONED HIS "PERSONAL VIEW" THAT THE 
MOST IMPORTANT OF THE CONSULTATIONS WOULD BE THOSE 
WITH THE UNITED STATES, AND THAT GOJ WOULD OFFICIALLY 
RESPOND LATER TO THE U.S. BELIEF THAT "THERE IS NO 
NEED FOR CONSULTATIONS."  AKIYAMA ALSO POINTED OUT 
THAT JAPAN HAS NO INTENTION OF TAKING AN UNLIMITED 
NUMBER OF WHALES EVEN THOUGH THE FILING OF AN 
OBJECTION WITH THE IWC MEANS GOJ IS NOT BOUND TO 
ANY SPECIFIC QUOTA. 
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¶3.  (C) AKIYAMA SAID THAT GOJ AND THE SOVIET UNION 
HAVE EXCHANGED "EXPRESSIONS OF INTENTION" TO CONDUCT 
THIS SEASON'S WHALING FOR MINKE WHALES IN THE 
ANTARCTIC IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE TOTAL CATCH WILL NOT 
EXCEED LAST SEASON'S HARVEST LEVELS OF 3,027 WHALES 
FOR JAPAN AND 3,028 WHALES FOR THE SOVIET UNION. 
AKIYAMA NOTED THAT THE EXCHANGE OF INTENTIONS WITH 
THE SOVIET UNION CORRESPONDED TO THE ARRANGEMENT 
REACHED BETWEEN THE USSR, GOJ, AND BRAZIL 
REGARDING LAST SEASON'S ANTARCTIC HARVEST, A 
COPY OF WHICH IS ON FILE WITH THE IWC SECRETARIAT. 
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¶4.  (C) SEVERAL QUESTIONS WERE POSED REGARDING 
THE TALKING POINTS: 
- 
(A) IINO REFERRED TO THE LAST TALKING POINT, AND 
POINTED OUT THAT PAST PRACTICE ESTABLISHES A 1984/85 
HARVEST OF 342 WHALES FOR BRAZIL INSTEAD OF THE 
376 USED BY THE USG.  AKIYAMA THOUGHT THAT THE 376 
FIGURE PROBABLY INCLUDES THE TEN PERCENT IWC 
MARGIN OF ERROR THAT IS ALLOWED FOR WHALING IN 
AREA II, BUT HE POINTED OUT THAT PAST PRACTICE 
OF THE USSR/GOJ/BRAZIL AGREEMENTS HAS  BEEN NOT 
TO PROVIDE FOR ANY MARGIN OF ERROR FOR THE 
HARVEST IN AREA II.  THUS, IN THE 1983/84 SEASON 
THE FIVE PERCENT MARGIN OF ERROR ALLOWED BY THE 
IWC FOR AREA II WOULD HAVE ALLOWED A BRAZILIAN 
HARVEST OF 630 MINKE WHALES, BUT THE GOJ/USSR/BRAZIL 
ARRANGEMENT LIMITED BRAZIL'S HARVEST TO 600 WHALES. 
SIMILARLY, FOR THE 1984/85 SEASON, BRAZIL WILL 
HARVEST 342 WHALES IN AREA II, NOT 342 PLUS TEN PERCENT, 
OR 376 WHALES.  ACCORDINGLY, GOJ'S QUOTA UNDER THE 
IWC GUIDELINES SHOULD BE 1,941 MINKE WHALES, NOT 
1,924. AKIYAMA AND IINO WANTED TO BE SURE THAT THE 
USG REALIZED THAT A "PAST PRACTICE" CALUCATIONS 
WOULD ALLOW GOJ A HARVEST QUOTA OF 1,941 FOR THIS 
SEASON. 
 
(B) THE FISHERY DIVISION OFFICIALS ALSO ASKED FOR 
USG CLARIFICATION OF THE REFERENCE IN THE SECOND 
TALKING POINT TO THE NOVEMBER 13, 1984, LETTER OF THE 
SECRETARY OF COMMERCE REGARDING THE PHRASE "IN 
EXCESS OF THE 1984/85 QUOTA FOR SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE 
MINKE WHALES."  IN PARTICULAR, GOJ WANTS TO KNOW IF 
GOJ IS SAFE FROM THE THREAT OF CERTIFICATION UNDER 
THE PACKWOOD AMENDMENT TO THE MAGNUSON FISHERY 
CONSERVATION AND MANAGEMENT ACT (MFCMA) IF GOJ 
HARVESTS FOR ANTARCTIC MINKE WHALES DO NOT EXCEED 
A CEILING OF 1,924 (OR 1,941) WHALES.  FURTHER 
ELABORATION ON THE SAME QUESTION WAS RAISED 
WITH THE COMMENT THAT USSR AND GOJ WHALERS BOTH 
OPERATE IN AREAS 4 AND 6 BUT ONLY GOJ OPERATIONS 
OCCUR IN AREA 5.  AS A RESULT, AKIYAMA AND IINO 
WONDERED IF THE TALKING POINTS WERE ONLY REFERRING TO 
AN OVERALL ANTARCTIC QUOTA FOR GOJ OF 
1,924 (OR 1,941) OR WHETHER THE QUOTA FOR EACH 
AREA WOULD BE EXAMINED IN ANY USG EVALUATION OF 
WHETHER MINKE CATCH LIMITS ARE BEING EXCEEDED THIS 
SEASON. 
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¶5.  (U) REGARDING REFTEL'S PARA 5, AKIYAMA 
CONFIRMED THAT 106 SPERM WHALES, ALL MALES, 
HAD BEEN HARVESTED BY THE JAPANESE COASTAL 
WHALING FLEET THROUGH JANUARY 7. 
- 
CLARK