The whaling debate overlooks a most basic principal -- the fact that whales are sentient beings. They, along with dolphins, are the "people" of the oceans, as separate from fish as humans are from alligators. All other arguments for continued killing of whales have no validity from the point in modern times when this has become established in fact.
Japan is almost alone among nations in its reverence for peace, as ensconced in its Constitution. Whaling serves no real function in our times except a political one. That is a tragic reason to continue the barbarous practice of whale hunting. In a time when global warming threatens all nations, why does Japan alone continue to support an industry so completely out of step with the ethic of an enlightened populace?