TAIJI, Wakayama Pref. -- Nestled between clear Pacific waters and richly forested mountains and valleys, Taiji and it's pristine surroundings have remained largely unspoiled thanks to the town's isolation in southeast Wakayama and the community's long-standing relationship with the sea and its resources.
But all is not well in this little paradise and things look to worsen because of an ongoing row in the International Whaling Commission over its protection of the minke, a whale species considered nonendangered.
An IWC ban has prevented Taiji and Japan's three other remaining whaling communities from coastal hunting of minke whales for more than a decade.