Regarding the Dec. 10 front-page AP article "¥2.3 billion for Tohoku diverted to whale hunt": I truly regret ever donating money for restoring individuals' lives in the quake/tsunami devastated areas of the Tohoku region. It is shocking to learn that the fisheries agency is so detached from reality and so brazen as to siphon away money for this disingenuous "research".
Where are the scientific publications from this so-called research? What are the discoveries that justify endless slaughtering of mammals? It is a well-documented fact that most Japanese people don't like whale meat, so it ends up in kids' school lunches.
It is an absolute disgrace for Japanese politics to continue this practice, which costs taxpayers huge amounts of money. One can say that this is a Japanese internal affair, but when it comes to diverting donated money, it stirs the ire of the world. I'm afraid that the supposed recipients are punished twice: first, because they don't get the much needed money, and second, because the diversion of this money will discourage donations in the future.
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.