I recall many years ago living in the workshop dormitory when an apprentice, standing up at a general meeting and saying that we should refrain from including whale in our meals. There were some rather unfriendly words directed at me as a result. Whale is rather tasty, btw. I don't at all like what has been the Japanese approach to continued whaling, saying that they are killing the Minks for research purposes, which is bullshit. I could have a bit more sympathy for the hunters if they were honest about it. The truth is that whaling has been the life support of coastal villages involved in the practice for many generations, and it isn't the desire to slaughter the creatures for reasons other than to continue the known way of life. Fewer and fewer have continued the trade, still there are some holdouts. Perhaps some understanding can also be directed towards their plight. Three or four generation whalers, it is in the blood. Their needs perhaps make them blind to the cruelty that they inflict on such magnificent creatures. There is not a lot of land here for raising meat, the sea has always provided most of the protein staple. Now with imports of beef, that has much changed. The newer generations haven't much grown up eating whale, aside from sometimes in school lunches, so the interest in having it at your table as your choice has become much less amongst consumers. It also isn't as nearly available. To some degree there might be a few to a lot of people here that don't like the idea of killing whales as of the old days, but I don't ever hear much protest about it, or even commentary for that matter. I guess that you could say that it is still an accepted part of the culture, as archaic a mentality that it might seem to be.
As to why anyone still wants to eat whale, given what is known about the intelligence of the sea creatures and their population numbers, I guess as much as anything, it has a lot to do with a people that has a rather complacent mindset when it comes to some subjects that in other cultures would be much easier for the people to form definite opinions about. People have their feelings about things, but not much coordination here for making protests. Making waves and registering strong opinions is not a strong suit of the culture. My wife, for example, she might buy some fruit or something at the market, and when we go to eat it, find that inside it is no good. I tell her to take it back and speak with the manager and get it replaced. i could talk until I'm blue in the face, but she absolutely will not do it. Nor will just about anyone else, it is the way that they were raised, suffer yourself rather than make any interference. I think to myself, but...but..but, but in reality, western logic and common sense about such things just does not apply. If you don't like something, suck it up yourself and keep quiet.. An incredible ability to endure, for better and for worse.
Fisherman's associations and rice grower's associations and the like, they are old and have a lot of power. The politicians get their pressure and don't want to upset their constituents, so needed changes don't get made. I think international pressure has made it tough on whalers, but the only way it will ever completely disappear, is if the market just no longer makes the practice profitable. Japanese generally aren't ones to throw in the towel easily when it comes to ancient practices. As paradoxical as it might seem, I suspect that there is also a spiritual aspect to whaling. Many old trades have their God that the practitioners pray to. Probably a whaler has a shrine in his house or certainly at the company headquarters, insuring the boats make port safely again with a bountiful catch. Yes, it is a shame, but I think it might be good to have some understanding about the issue in a more complete sense. When the Sea Shepherd interferes with the whale boats, it isn't just stopping the catch, but it is also affecting entire families and villages. Some people will have a harder time separating the good from the bad of it.
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