Arguing that whales consume several times more fish than humans and that their growing population runs the risk of tilting the delicate balance of the marine ecosystem, professor and food scientist Kohmei Wani is leading a grassroots push for the relaxation of worldwide bans on whaling.
The president of the Association for the Preservation of Food Custom through Sustainable Whaling in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, argues the International Whaling Commission needs to recognize the benefits of Japan's research whaling and long history of harvesting and eating whales.
Wani, 70, who teaches at Toa University, plans to protest what he reckons is the excessive protection of whales, at the annual IWC meeting to be held next spring in the city. He said there is a need for "cross-cultural understanding."
"We have our whaling culture and enough scientific data backing our trial to preserve it and leave it to our descendants," he said. "Our top task at the IWC meeting in Shimonoseki is not to prepare for criticism but to make every effort to help introduce our own culture, which those opposed to the eating of whales have never had a chance to know."