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Japanese Coast Guard Officers Protect Whaling Fleet

January 29th, 2008 by James

Japan Coast Guard Mascot

The AFP reports that Japan has dispatched coast guard officers are now helping whalers in the Antarctic Ocean:

Japan’s coast guard said Tuesday it has sent a team of officers to protect its whaling fleet against intensifying protests by environmentalists.

The whalers have repeatedly clashed with environmentalists in the Antarctic Ocean and halted the hunt two weeks ago.

“Coast guards are there with a view to protect human lives and assets as they have suffered damage at the hands of activists,” Japan Coast Guard spokesman Takashi Matsumori said.

The last time the maritime police sent officers to a non-Coast Guard vessel outside Japanese waters was in 1992 when it protected a ship controversially bringing plutonium from France for nuclear power generation.

[...]

Matsumori declined to give details about the current Coast Guard operation, citing security reasons, but said officers had the right to carry guns or other weapons.

The guards “could make arrests if activists enter a ship without permission of the captain,” he said.

While the coast guard officers have the capability to arrest individuals who illegally board Japanese vessels, there were no such officers serving on the Japanese whaling ship that suffered a butyric acid attack and subsequent illegal boarding by Sea Shepherd activists earlier in the month, so the Japanese coast guard could not play a role in the detainment of those particular activists.

What should the Japanese coast guard do in this situation?
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16 Comments »

Comment by yop
2008-01-29 19:43:15

*other : they should do a barrel roll :3

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Comment by Turner
2008-01-29 21:06:13

from Hayden Panettiere?

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Comment by 404error
2008-01-30 03:42:07

they shouldnt go on the ships(outside of japanese territory)

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Comment by Rob A
2008-01-30 06:07:33

They should do nothing. If the whalers want to do something that immoral and harmful to the environment, the eco-protectorate should be allowed to attack them however they want, and the Whalers should be allowed to defend themselves however they want. With any luck, they’d ALL die and I wouldn’t have to waste my time thinking about them anymore.

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Comment by Bruce Smith
2008-01-30 21:24:35

Are you insane ? The whalers are working men. The eco-fruitcakes are wankers.

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Comment by Ryry
2008-01-30 06:33:43

Arrr! Walking the plank is the most popular! Shiver me timbers…

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Comment by Buho
2008-01-30 07:29:04

They have to arrest all the terrorist that kill whales for comercial interest, the don’t know that this specie is in danger, and all the ponjas try to kill more for have a good time in the dinner.

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Comment by Kevin
2008-01-30 09:57:36

“the don’t know that this specie is in danger”

We hear this a lot, but please link to sources to confirm this. If it’s true anti-whaling dialog has some footing, otherwise the conversation just becomes anti-Japanese rhetoric.

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Comment by Bruce Smith
2008-01-30 21:26:47

In your case I don’t need to ask “Are you insane ?” because the answer is a given. Whales are not human. Killing non-humans does not make someone a terrorist. If you disagree you are a moron.

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Comment by David
2008-01-30 07:48:52

ARREST THEM! These vigilantes annoy me so much

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Comment by luxis
2008-01-30 09:21:04

the whales are fine, they are only endangered because somebody writes a report saying there endangered if they were in such a small amount as they claim to be there would a hell of alot more serious action against this so called “immoral practise”

this whole save the whales thing is dry, im not saying its correct or inccorect but were im from, when people die because an animal killed them, do you think that animals feels any remorse for taken away someones loved one NO. Do you think they huddle in groups and say “lets not kill humans because there loved ones will be upset”? NO

so why should you care if a couple 1000 whales die because people like to eat them and use them for research(regardless of whether there smart or not)

blue fin tuna was in a worse situation(correct me if i’m wrong) , did people really care NO, they put it on the news and said “were almost out of blue fin tuna”(not sure how there doing now), then everyone carried on about there business

fox hunting here in the uk was banned, people are still doing it , but no one says damn word, its a much easier cause to fight , but because everybody already started moaning at japan, the rest of you followed like sheep.

you need to stop and think about how easily you are manipulated by the media , then think about how the time and resources spent chasing after whalers could be used to help people who have barely anything to eat and no clean water to drink.

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Comment by somegirl
2008-01-30 21:03:39

excellent comment, too many people whine over something without knowing the facts. there are SOOOOO many cultures taht eat whale and are allowed to do it yet Japan is picked on for whaling. What about the whale eaten by natives in North America? They are allowed to do it why can’t the other cultures. Personally, we should just go after the anti-whalers and eat them alive. That would get rid of the annoying complainers.

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Comment by Dakk
2008-01-30 11:14:00

In my personal opinion, if these eco-terrorists attempt to harm them in any way… they should be shot on sight.

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Comment by Bruce Smith
2008-01-30 21:29:15

Whales are big.

So simple minded folk become more upset about whales being killed than they do in the case of smaller animals/fish/whatever.

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Comment by Marcus Larsson
2008-01-31 06:16:07

Ah, the never ending discussions with people getting angry at people because they are angry at something. Don’t you see how contradictive this is? If someone is mad at the whaling industry and wants to kill people on whaling boats then if you want to kill them for their opinion, wouldn’t that make you atleast as bad a person if not worse?

Yes, terrorists that resort to voilence should be put in prison like other criminals but to “shoot them on the spot”, like many people seem to endorse, is way out of line. By that logic we should also shoot those people on the spot, and then ourselves.

It’s also quite rediculous how some people seem to want to measure human life vs whale life. There is no fair measurement of life. If you’re gonna argue fairness in actions just look at results. It doesn’t matter what motive the terrorists have when they kill someone, it’s still a crime. Nor does it matter what your motive is to kill or harm them. The end result is still murder.

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