SYDNEY -- Japanese whalers are coming and there appears no way of stopping them. Worse, their harpoons are about to slaughter more of the ocean mammals than ever.
This fear agitates many Australians. That's why they are organizing a new wave of protests and appealing to world opinion against the Japanese whaling industry. A growing protect-the-whales movement could easily escalate into demands for tighter controls over Japanese tuna fishing in Australian waters.
Not that the Australian government is resorting to direct action. Prime Minister John Howard claims that Australia's objections to Japan's killing more whales in the Southern Pacific will remain within the bounds of diplomatic niceties. Even so, the latest bout in this long-running global war of words is doing nothing to enhance relations between Canberra and Tokyo.