Text of the statement by Mr. Akira Nakamae, Deputy Director-General, Fisheries Agency, Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Government of Japan

Thank you Mr. Chair.

This IWC meeting in Anchorage was the last opportunity to restore this organisation which is polarised and not fulfilling its basic mandate.

We presented Japan’s Small Type Coastal Whaling proposal to utilise the abundant Minke whales resources without having any negative impact on the stock. The way the discussion on this matter transpired clearly revealed the dysfunctional nature of the IWC and the double standard at play. This was despite the IWC repeatedly affirming its resolution to alleviate the plight and suffering of these coastal communities expeditiously. This request has been denied so many times.

This time we presented a modest and just proposal. Again, it was not accepted.

This is extremely regrettable, not only for Japan, but for the whole of IWC.

To ensure the total takes of this stock would not increase, even by one animal, we planned to subtract the same number from the sampling component of our research survey in the North Pacific.

We left the number of takes open so that it could be accepted by many. We incorporated most of the elements of control and surveillance from the Chair‘s package on RMS proposed by Mr. Fischer. We proposed to set up Oversight Committee to secure complete transparency.

There was no logical reason to reject this proposal.

Those who opposed this proposal have denied this organisation’s role as a resource management organisation. They have publicly admitted the double standard which would push this organisation into further disarray.

While three nations engaged in Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling supported our proposal, the United States did not. Further, they denied the commercial aspects associated with their whaling. This could be described as a display of self serving double standard. You must realise that there is always a price to pay.

Furthermore, to see the Commission reject the prospect of mending the rift was beyond comprehension.

Japan has been working with other nations who share our concern over the current status of the IWC. Japan participated in the small group for RMS under the previous Chair, Mr. Fischer. Despite serious difficulties, with the spirit of compromise, we supported the Chair’s package.

We hosted a gathering to discuss how to alleviate the confrontation and mistrust within the IWC by inviting all contracting members, NGOs and the media. Since last year’s meeting in St. Kitts and Nevis, we held numerous dialogues with relevant members, in search of a way to prevent the disintegration of the IWC.

At this meeting, we made sure that we would engage in dialogue rather than confrontation.

However, our effort could not change the current state of the IWC. As Ambassador Edmunds from St. Lucia predicted, our patience is running thin.

After what happened at this meeting, we wish to state that there is a real possibility that we will review the way we engage with the IWC at a fundamental level. There are strong requests from the ruling party of Japan and other circles. They include the options to withdraw from IWC or establish a new organization as well as the voluntary resumption of small type coastal whaling.

We are particularly interested in holding preparatory talks to establish an alternative international organisation to manage and conserve cetacean resources.

We participated in this meeting with a faint hope that things might start to improve. We did not ask our proposals to be put to vote. With the spirit of cooperation, we supported all the requests for Aboriginal Subsistence Whaling.

We were encouraged by the resolution on safety at sea which was adopted by consensus.

However, despite the request from the Chair at the outset of this meeting, some members, including the Chair’s home country, insisted on voting on draft resolutions which were provocative and not worth participating in, and reverted back to the usual modus operandi.

The process of normalisation started rolling when we held the conference on the Normalisation of the IWC. It is worth trying to deepen mutual understanding. However, while there are fundamental differences over views on crucial matters such as science based sustainable resources management, we cannot expect much to be resolved.

Japan affirms its basic stance to uphold the principle of sustainable utilisation of all living marine resources, including cetaceans, based on science and within the relevant legal framework. We will continue to cooperate with relevant nations who support this principle.

We hope that our message will serve to awaken others to see this extraordinary state the IWC is in, look at the reality and start changing their attitude. Those who have maintained such an inflexible attitude and created a void in the fundamental mandate of this Convention, which is the science based management of cetacean resources, should feel the weight of the reality we face now.

Thank you.

◆Related contents of IWC official homepage：

http://www.iwcoffice.org/_documents/commission/IWC59docs/59-9.pdf

http://www.iwcoffice.org/meetings/meeting2007.htm