Regarding Rhonda Grant's Dec. 25 letter, "Resentment by a new generation": I'd like to know whether Australia's younger generations, who Grant says are voicing hatred toward Japan because of Japan's annual scientific whaling expeditions, feel the same seething animosity toward other whaling nations that also kill a regular quota of whales each year.

Norway makes no attempt to hide the fact that it is conducting commercial whaling in the northeast Atlantic, where it kills about 1,300 minke whales each season. Why hasn't Grant vented her rage against Norway as well?

Russia kills about 140 Gray whales each year in an annual hunt.The Gray whale is just as "cute" as the minke, yes? Why not protest in front of the Russian Embassy in Australia? Let those Russian whale hunters know how cruel and barbaric they are!

And what about those barbaric islanders from the Faroe Islands? They hunt and kill nearly 1,000 long-finned pilot whales each year! And pilot whales are a popular attraction at marine theme parks all over the world. There are also whale hunts in Greenland, Iceland and even Canada, a British Commonwealth country. Oh, the humanity! Will Australia declare war on Canada over this issue?

I now understand why American Gen. Douglas MacArthur made sure that none of the British Commonwealth countries was allowed to occupy Japan after World War II.

The opinions expressed in this letter to the editor are the writer's own and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Japan Times.

robert mckinney