VZCZCXRO5052
RR RUEHMJ
DE RUEHKO #3455/01 2100046
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 290046Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 5926
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
INFO RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 0458
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 1846
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0996
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 2249
RUEHRK/AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK 0161
RUEHNY/AMEMBASSY OSLO 1146
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0637
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 4257
RUEHMJ/AMEMBASSY MAJURO 0069

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TOKYO 003455 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D, G and OES/OA - MHAYES/JFIELD AND EAP/J 
USDOC FOR NOAA/NMFS - US IWC COMMISSIONER HOGARTH AND McCARTY 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SENV EFIS KSCA IWC JA ETRD
SUBJECT: WHALING: FIRST NATIONAL WHALE FORUM PRESSURES GOJ TO RESUME 
STCW INDEPENDENTLY 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1. (SBU) Mayors from coastal-whaling municipalities have officially 
pressured the GOJ to voluntarily resume commercial small-type 
coastal whaling (STCW).  At a July 7-8 public whale forum in 
Ishinomaki City, north-eastern Japan, four mayors from whaling sites 
-- Abashiri, Ayukawa, Wada and Taiji -- signed a joint declaration 
urging the independent action.  As a panelist for the event, FAJ's 
Director for International Negotiations Joji Morishita commented 
that IWC Anchorage was a success to that end, contrary to most press 
reports, as it demonstrated how malfunctioning the IWC is.  He 
asserted that Japan would have to play a different game such as 
putting the IWC into "hibernation" by sending only a small Japanese 
Delegation in 2008.  At a seperate venue, Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs' Fisheries Office Director Ryotaro Suzuki said that he had 
never heard about the hibernation idea and it would not be possible. 
 END SUMMARY. 
 
First Annual Whaling Municipality Conference 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Most major players in the Japanese whaling community gathered 
at a July 7-8 public event entitled "National Whale Forum" in 
Ishinomaki City, Miyagi Prefecture, north-eastern Japan.  It was the 
first five annual meetings planned to promote whaling and whale food 
culture co-hosted by the National Association of Whaling-Conserving 
Municipalities and local governments.  The conference replaced a 
similar event called "Japan Traditional Whaling Community Summit," 
which had taken place since the IWC 2002 Shimonoseki Meeting.  With 
a subtitle "Food Variety, Moving Ishinomaki," this year's forum had 
attractions such as a celebrity panel discussion, booths serving 
whale meat and a whale museum open house.  In part due to the good 
weather, the forum attracted 19,000 participants according to a 
local press report. 
 
Background: Ayukawa As Small Whaling Community 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶3. (U) The two-day event featured main sessions in Ayukawa on Day 1 
(July 7).  It is an isolated rural port that used to thrive in the 
commercial whaling era and one of the four communities that have 
sought to resume commercial STCW for the past two decades at the 
IWC.  It is currently one of the two bases for coastal whaling under 
JARPN II (Second Phase of Japan's Whale Research Program under 
Special Permit in the Western North Pacific) with an annual take is 
60 minke whales.  It also takes two non-IWC administered species, 
i.e. Baird's beaked whales (2007's catch is 26) and short-finned 
pilot whales (2007's catch is 36) as decided annually by the FAJ. 
An official in the Ayukawa area explained that Ayukawa locals have 
preferred eating minke whale to the other smaller species, whereas 
Wada has focused on Baird's beaked whales.  The population of 
Ayukawa peaked at 8,345 in 1955, and it declined by 70 percent to 
2,475 in 2007, mainly due to the contraction in in the whaling 
industry after the moratorium.  Whaling has been essentially 
Ayukawa's lone industry, due to lack of other resources and isolated 
location -- its land is barren and not good for agriculture, and it 
is located more than one hour drive on a winding road from the 
closest train station. 
 
¶4. (U) The main sessions on Day 2 (July 8) took place in Kahoku, 
northern part of Ishinomaki City, about 1.5 hour drive north of 
Ayukawa.  Ishinomaki City Mayor Kimio Doi explained in a panel 
discussion (para 10) that he chose Kahoku as one of the two venues 
as he wanted residents in the area to better understand local 
whaling culture.  In fact, outside Ayukawa, even Ishinomaki City 
residents can be ignorant about whaling.  According to a survey by 
the Miyagi Prefecture Fisheries High School that was displayed at 
one booth of the event, eighty-seven percent of its food science 
major students did not know that there is still a whaling port in 
Ayukawa. 
 
¶5. (U) On Day 1, following a Buddhist memorial service for dead 
whalers and whales, forum host Ishinomaki Mayor Kimio Doi asserted 
whale is definitely a staple food in the area, and declared that it 
was time to consolidate opinions in the Japanese whaling community 
so that they can resume STCW and pass on whaling culture to the next 
generation.  FAJ Far Seas Fiseries Division Deputy Director Hideki 
 
TOKYO 00003455  002 OF 003 
 
 
Moronuki made a somewhat poetic remark that Japan raised its fist at 
IWC Anchorage and is determined to make it resound all over so that 
the world will better understand Japan's whaling culture. 
 
Four Mayors Signed "Ishinomaki Declaration" 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. (U) A key event on Day 1 was a STCW town meeting that featured 
mayors from Abashiri City in Hokkaido, Minamiboso City in Chiba 
Prefecture, Taiji Town in Wakayama Prefecture and Ishinomaki City in 
Miyagi Prefecture.  All four municipalities have sought IWC 
permission to resume commercial STCW for the past two decades. 
Ishinomaki City Mayor Doi stressed that he wanted to revitalize the 
city and Miyagi Prefecture at large by establishing a reputation as 
a destination for whale meat gourmands.  Taiji Town Mayor Kazutaka 
Sangen remarked that he will cooperate with the National 
Municipality Association in order to obtain a "desirable result" 
within a year.  In preparation for resumption of commercial whaling, 
Abashiri City Mayor stated that the four coastal whaling sites would 
work together to maintain whaling techniques.  Minamiboso City Mayor 
Yutaka Ishii explained its whaling port Wada's unique position of 
taking mainly Baird's beaked whales.  Then the four mayors announced 
and signed the "National Whale Forum 2007 Ishinomaki Declaration." 
It asserts that STCW should be treated equally as aboriginal 
subsistence whaling (ASW) and the four mayors "strongly request" the 
GOJ to voluntarily resume STWC. 
 
Local Whaler: An Annucal Catch of 200 to 300 Minkes Would be Ideal 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
 
¶7. (U) These sessions took place in front of a whale museum called 
"Oshika Whale Land," which was open to the public free of charge for 
forum's two days.  In the museum lobby, a local craftsman 
demonstrated the carving of whale tooth necklaces, which were sold 
at prices from USD 200 to 300 each.  The museum had a variety of 
exhibits including a 3D theater, a 16-meter (48-feet) long whale 
skeleton, an interactive whale quiz machine and samples of whale 
bodies and whale embryos and fetuses preserved in formalin that were 
donated by the ICR.  Whalers served as guides at the museum.  Asked 
about whale meat consumption from the coastal portion (60 minke 
whales per year in Ayukawa) of JARPN II, a guide with 35-year 
whaling experience from Ayukawa stated that its meat is rapidly gone 
for local consumption.  He added that ideally he wants to catch 200 
to 300 minke whales as STCW. 
 
Ten Mayors Across Japan Applauded "Independent Resumption" 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) At the opening ceremony of Day 2, politicians, national and 
local government officials and others gave remarks.  Councilor 
Tadashi Taura from Nagasaki Prefecture and a member of the ruling 
Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) gave his impression of attending IWC 
Annual Meetings.  He felt that as Japan had chosen to make logical 
arguments, other nations had come to better understand Japan's 
position.  Referring to his local situation, he asserted that whales 
were not endangered given the fact that vessels often accidentally 
strike whales.  FAJ's Morishita referred to his 26-year career at 
the FAJ that has varied in scope including salmon, trout and tuna, 
and commented that the whaling issue stood out in attracting 
attention from all sorts of populations - politicians, government 
officials, researchers, adults and children.  He added that the 
issue was unique in that Japanese politicians unanimously share the 
same view regardless of parties. 
 
¶9. (U) After the ceremony, ten mayors from across Japan (in addition 
to the four in para 6, those from Kushiro City in Hokkaido, Onagawa 
Town in Miyagi Prefecture, Shimonoseki City in Yamagata Prefecture, 
Muroto City in Kohchi Prefecture, Shinkamigoto Town in Nagasaki 
Prefecture, and Nago City in Okinawa Prefecture) convened a meeting 
onstage in which each gave a presentation on his region's whaling 
culture.  Kushiro City Mayor Yoshitaka Ito reported that his city 
caught the most whales from 1951 to 1961.  It has conducted whale 
culture events such as a whale food contest by professional chefs. 
Smaller towns such as Taiji and Shinkamigoto voiced the need for 
commercial whaling to increase employment.  Shimonoseki City Mayor 
Kiyoshi Ejima talked about his city's role as the whaling base for 
the Antarctic hunt and a distribution center of whale products in 
Western Japan.  Finally, all applauded Ishinomaki Mayor Doi's 
announcement that he was determined to do his best, starting with 
 
TOKYO 00003455  003 OF 003 
 
 
clearly communicating the Ishinomaki Declaration to the GOJ and 
political parties. 
 
FAJ Morishita: Put IWC Into "Hibernation" 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) The ten-mayor meeting was followed by a panel discussion 
that featured actor Bunta Sugawara, FAJ's Morishita, Minoru Kimura, 
Chair of the Miyagi Prefecture Federation of Fisheries Associations, 
and a whale cuisine specialist Mieko Senda and Isinomaki City Mayor 
Doi.  The discussion was moderated by Hidehiro Kato, Professor of 
marine animals at the Tokyo University of Marine Science and 
Technology.  A 400-capacity auditorium over-flowed with young and 
old, men and women.  The crowd puller was 73-year-old Sugawara, who 
has appeared in more than 250 Japanese movies mostly as an outlaw 
character.  Originally from Miyagi Prefecture, he has also 
frequently appeared in whale-related events.  Sugawara recounted an 
NHK (Japan's public broadcast network) documentary aired in December 
2006 in which he was on-board a JARPAN II research whaling vessel 
for two weeks.  He argued that Japan should first focus on resuming 
STCW, and then expand whaling in the Antarctic when the Japanese 
local economy is completely revitalized. 
 
¶11. (U) In response, Morishita stated that the GOJ has focused on 
STCW for the past several.  He asserted that IWC Anchorage was a 
success and a step forward to that end, as it clearly showed that 
the IWC has been malfunctioning.  This was vital for the GOJ to 
announce that Japan would resume STCW.  He added that now that even 
such an "outstanding" STWC proposal for IWC Anchorage was rejected, 
Japan will have to play a different game from the IWC.  Morishita 
recounted that even the U.S. panicked when Japan stated "we will not 
rely on the IWC anymore."  Asked if Japan will withdraw from the 
IWC, Morishita noted that those who could not agree with the 
Convention should get out, and therefore Japan had no reason to do 
that.  He continued that he would rather put the IWC into 
"hibernation."  One way would be sending a small Japanese Delegation 
to the IWC in 2008.  Sugawara responded that the GOJ still seemed 
wishy-washy, and said that Democratic Party of Japan's head Ichiro 
Ozawa may make a drastic decision if he comes into power. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶12. (SBU) One aspect of the "kakusa," or growing social inequality, 
that has been a political topic in Japan, has been the widening 
rural-urban income gap.  STCW is certainly an issue that some 
politicians would take up as a selling point to help revitalize 
small whaling communities.  While the "Ishinomaki Declaration" is 
not feasible given that Japan is bound by the IWC moratorium, the 
Declaration has certainly pressured the FAJ to take some measures. 
FAJ Morishtia's comments in the whale forum about putting the IWC 
into "hibernation" surprised even long-time insider in the Japanese 
whaling community Hidehiro Kato of the Tokyo University of Marine 
Science and Technology.  At a seperate venue, Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs' Fisheries Office Director Ryotaro Suzuki told Post that he 
had never heard about the hibernation idea and it would not be 
possible.  The GOJ interagency dynamic on whaling bears watching. 
 
DAVISON