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Japanese Professor Denounces “The Cove”

When Professor Tetsuya Endo of the Health Sciences University of Hokkaido agreed to be interviewed for a “documentary concerning mercury contamination of marine life,” he was expecting that his views would be properly presented alongside other scientific arguments. Instead, he found that he had been tricked into appearing in “The Cove,” an emotional hit piece aimed at portraying Japanese dolphin hunts as barbaric, cruel, and uncivilized. Endo found that his interview was selectively edited to make it look like he supported the animal rights activists’ sensational claims about Japanese authorities “poisoning” citizens by covering-up the truth about the level of mercury in dolphin meat. As one might expect, he is not happy about it:

Endo claimed the director interviewed him without explaining at all about his intention to criticize dolphin hunting based on particular ideas and values.

“The film is extremely subjective and unscientific,” the associate professor stated, adding the director’s act “destroys the credibility of a scientist who is noted for his objectivity.”

In reference to the scene in which Endo was holding in his hand the meat of a dolphin from Taiji, he argued that the director arbitrarily inserted into the scene a caption saying mercury was detected in the meat, even though he was explaining about another dolphin.

The director, who is a photographer and founder of a marine life conservation group, alleges in the film that a large quantity of mercury is contained in dolphin meat.

A brief report about Professor Endo confronting Ric O’Barry and other animal rights activists at a FCCJ press conference can be found here.

Note: Back in May 2010, a study by the National Institute for Minamata Disease found that no residents of Taiji had any mercury-related health problems. Supporters of “The Cove” continue to claim that Taiji is “poisoning” its citizens and the study must have been part of the vast Japanese conspiracy to hide the truth about dangerous dolphin and wheal meat.

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28 comments - What do you think? Posted by James - December 5, 2010 at 10:55 am

Categories: General Japan Tags:

http://www.google.com/ Victoria

Whoever does “the cove” needs a life.
イブちゃん

It’s a sad thing when an independent blogger, under a facade of impartiality, apes the conservative media and unwittingly becomes a lapdog for an exploitative industry.

BadWolf

I don’t think I have ever seen so many assumptions crammed into one sentence before. Kudos.
Steve

And yet, if fanatics for a “righteous” cause use and manipulate people for their own purposes, that’s ok?

Rob A

I would love to hear an example of this, instead of an unfounded blanket statement.

Mercury

did you even bother to read the article lol?

pat

it’s not about the level of the mercury and the fact that some japanese sell dauphin as another kind of fish… it’s about how they kill them.

fh

Cool. I guess they’re also on a crusade to end the production of veal, foie gras, and pretty much any other meat that is mass “produced” for consumption.

Assuming the way cattle is killed is “humane enough” (zapping their brains with electricity so that they’re brain-dead within a split second), all we need is to teach the Taiji fishermen how to do the same with dolphins, and this whole dolphin thing will go away, right?

Right?

Dev

Am I a bastard thinking when I saw the name, Endo, I thought of batsu games?
flowby

I have no take on the consumption of dolphin one way or the other,

BUT the national institute for minamata diseases methods for detection of associateed health problems of taiji citizens re consumption of mercury contaminated meat, has been brought into question.

They do not follow some procedures – deemed basic and necessary by other authorities – in patient evaluation.

Why is anyones guess.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

the national institute for minamata diseases methods for detection of associateed health problems of taiji citizens re consumption of mercury contaminated meat, has been brought into question.

I assume you are referring to this article by Boyd Harnell. The author is listed a special reporter, meaning that he’s not a regular writer for the Japan Times. Googling his name only seems to turn up anti-dolphin hunt articles about Taiji. It’s not at all surprising that somebody who has spent years trying to stop the Taiji hunt would not readily accept a test that fails to confirm the claims that activists have been making. After such a loss, it seems natural that they would argue that there must be more tests or different kinds of tests.

As far as I am aware, there has been no documented cases of Minamata disease or mercury poisoning in Taiji. The tests were not motivated by any mysterious deaths or outbreaks of strange symptoms, nor was any lawsuit being filed. It seems highly unlikely that researchers at an institution devoted entirely to the prevention of Minamata disease would have any motivation to perform substandard tests, and I wouldn’t be surprised to find out that the kind of testing that was carried out is what one would normally expect in such a case.

Rob A

“there has been no documented cases of Minamata disease or mercury poisoning in Taiji”

The reason? Probably to not attract negative attention to their location and activities. That’s a pretty big motivation to provide substandard tests and/or hide the results.

There is also the issue that they will not perform the two-point testing which is the standard practice for testing for mercury neural damage, just because they ‘do not consider this (sensory) test routine in Japan’. Sounds like avoidance of the issue to me.

It could also be that the people of this area have built up a large tolerance for mercury compared to other locations, given their long history of eating odd seafood that is well-known to contain higher levels of Hg.

Nothing about this article seems politically motivated against the killing of dolphins, so much as it seems against eating them once they’re dead.

Citations from the article you linked to:
“Hg levels were 11.00 parts per million (ppm) for men and 6.63 ppm for women — compared with an average of 2.47 ppm for men and 1,64 ppm for women at 14 other locations in Japan.”

“results found that 43 residents tested above 50 ppm of MeHg, with one showing a level of 139 ppm”

“all those tested were declared healthy”

flowby

Thanks James.

Regarding Boyd Harnell – I don’t know if his opinion is compromised or not by a decided bias, but the simple fact remains – why would the Minamata Institute NOT use a protocol deemed pertinent to setting the standard for Minamata disease sufferers compensation by the Japan Supreme Court in 2006???

Why in this case would they deviate from the standards set, and from what I can gather, they are compelled to use re Minamata disease patients? Why would the Institute director general say,

“Neurology experts do not consider this(sensory) test routine in Japan”.

Is the Supreme court’s ruling wrong?

In addition the learned opinions of other experts re safe levels & toxicity of mercury shouldn’t just be discarded because of the writer’s intent. Are you suggesting they all have biased agendas or that the data is misrepresented or false?

Furthermore another Japan Times article by staff writer Eric Johnston in Sept 2009 clearly
describes the dangers of mercury toxicity relevant to the Taiji case with numerous examples. In fact Endo states his observations clearly in that article and mentions in interview that the toxicity in 3 cases was enough to develop nerve damage as seen in Minamata disease.

So as I originally said, and have often stated on this forum, I have no leaning for or against the Taiji cause, BUT I do feel it’s necessary to comment where I believe there are ingongruities or weaknesses in whats being proffered.

As there are holes in the anti-dolphin hunt community rhetoric, there are agapes aplenty on the pro side too.

http://www.japanprobe.com James

Why in this case would they deviate from the standards set, and from what I can gather, they are compelled to use re Minamata disease patients? Why would the Institute director general say,

“Neurology experts do not consider this(sensory) test routine in Japan”.

Is the Supreme court’s ruling wrong?

Let’s compare the two cases:

1. A case involving compensation for victims of an actual Minamata disease outbreak (the one that gave the disease its name). Hundreds of people had already been confirmed to have suffered from serious mercury poisoning, many of them died from it. The cause, industrial pollution on a massive scale, was already well-known. Survivors, including some people who did not have readily observable signs of mercury poisoning, were demanding compensation money.

2. In Taiji, we have no reported cases of anything resembling Minamata disease. We have no confirmed case of massive industrial pollution. We don’t have alleged victims demanding compensation. All we have are a few experts warning that there could possibly be health risks associated with the consumption of dolphin meat in the town.

Your question about the Supreme Court ignores the fact that there is a huge difference between the two cases. One is about seeking financial compensation for confirmed mass outbreak of mercury poisoning due to industrial dumping, the other is a precautionary test.

Using the Supreme Court’s view on what should be done in case #1 as proof of what should be “routine” or “standard” in case #2 is hardly fair.

It’s clear that there are pretty high levels of mercury in dolphin and whale meat. There some experts out there who play down the risks of mercury. Other experts such as Endo believe that consuming a lot of whale meat will put people at risk of nerve damage. However, even Endo seems to disagree strongly with the very alarming manner in which animal rights activists attempt to scare people into not eating dolphin meat. It’s one thing to say that a possible health risk exists, but it’s an entirely different matter to declare, as activists have, that the people of Taiji are being poisoned.

Those that oppose dolphin hunting on grounds of food safety should be commissioning more studies about the health effects of its consumption. Conspiracy theories about Japanese government cover-ups are not helping their cause at all.

flowby

OK – points taken and considered.

BUT, with the baggage of mercury poisoning here in Japan, one would wisely think that thorough checking using acknowledged “standard” methods would be de rigeur.

Japan has a fine reputation for diagnostic procedures – some would say the best in the world – and I’ve certainly benefited from excellence in these fields.

Something doesn’t just fit this time around. No conspiracies, no accusations of malpractice, no baying for blood – just a simple query which many obviously seem fit to villify me for.

Put yourself in the position of a dolphin eating family (adults & kids) who surprisingly hear that the meat they have and are consuming is tainted with a not particularly welcome toxin.

a) Would you want a thorough as possible medical examination as is available to rule out any possibilities of neuro- sensory damage, esp for your children?

b) Would you want a less investigative procedure which may or may not find evidence of toxicity?

c) Would you be ok with the doctor just asking you to “Say Ahhh” and check your blood pressure?

d) Would you not worry about being tested (65% of Taiji citizens) because my family’s eaten dolphin meat all our lives are we are fine?

In all seriousness – What would you want?

ponta

”
In all seriousness – What would you want?”

Not many people eat the whale/dolphin meat so much in Japan.
And as you point out, “their family’s eaten dolphin meat all our lives are we are fine”
and the research concluded that there was no damage to the health and they say they would continue the research.
I wonder what’s so worrying you.

If we should be worried about the whale meat, it might be that we had better more worried about the U.S beef than the whale meat: More people eat the U.S. beef much more than the whale meat.

Hormones In U.S. Beef Linked To Increased Cancer Risk

CHICAGO, IL, October 21, 2009 –/WORLD-WIRE/– Beef produced in the United States is heavily contaminated with natural or synthetic sex hormones, which are associated with an increased risk of reproductive and childhood cancers, warns Dr. Samuel S. Epstein, Chairman of the Cancer Prevention Coalition.

http://world-wire.com/news/0910210001.html

.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

It comes down to whether or not the People of Taiji trust the judgment of:

1) National Institute for Minamata Disease – an institution that specializes specifically in the research of mercury poisoning, with scientists who have devoted their careers to preventing another Minamata from happening.

or

2) Animal rights activists who have found several scientists who believe that the National Institute should have conducted additional tests of a different type. ( The push for Taiji to conduct this kind of test having apparently materialized after the National Institute’s tests failed to produce results that animal rights activists had expected. )

It’s unfortunate that many Taiji residents didn’t participate in the tests, as a larger sample would have indeed been more helpful for research. There are concerns about mercury in dolphin meat, so anybody who eats a lot of it should have gone and got tested.

Animal rights activists would probably be unsatisfied with anything less than a test of 100% of the population, but it would be unrealistic to expect the government to force people to submit themselves to medical tests unless there was already hard evidence of an outbreak of something like Minamata disease. Most public health testing relies on volunteers, and it is somewhat impressive that a whole 1/3 of the town would have been willing to take the time to submit themselves to examination. ( Several hundred of them reported recently eating dolphin or whale meat, so it’s not as if they only tested the part of the town that doesn’t actually eat the stuff. )

We don’t know much about those who didn’t participate in the study. Did the institute even attempt to contact every single resident of the town and get them to participate? Were they people who said, “because my family’s eaten dolphin meat all our lives are we are fine?” Were the people who didn’t participate the ones who ate the most dolphin meat? Were they people who didn’t eat any dolphin meat at all, and saw no need to take the test? Were they too busy? Were they resentful towards the entire idea of such a test? Were they secretly suffering from mercury poisoning and wanted to cover-up the truth? We don’t know, and we can’t draw conclusions about those who didn’t participate.
flowby

Thank you – but no ones answered my simple question of

” Would you want as full and thorough health check for your family as is available if you were in their situations?”

or “Would you be happy with a less thorough check?”

Yes or No? If you say No, well then fine, that’s your choice, and you could stand proud.

BUT me, in this country with the level of medical diagnostic procedures maybe 2nd to none, I’d be going for the whole hog. My wife and kids health is of the utmost to me.

And,

I’m NOT talking about American beef – geeez, where did that come from???

And I’m NOT talking about political/social agendas of specific groups – I’ve already stated that at least twice in this discussion, so I don’t need to be reminded of what I am not referring to.

James you brought up a lot of What ifs. Rightfully so – so where are the answers for your legitimate questions. Perhaps they have been published by the NIMD &/or other relevant authorities – just I’ve never heard of such.

But I will naturally accept any relevations as I’m not seeking to sling mud, just a few simple answers – you know for a humble man. It shouldn’t be controversial as some have made it out to be. Just an answer.
http://www.japanprobe.com James

I didn’t answer your questions because they miss the point. You have framed them in a way that assumes that the animal rights activists are right (the test they demand is the only “thorough check” – the other test is not “full”) and that the National Institute for Minamata Disease uses inadequate tests in such a situation.

As I wrote, the point is trusting #1 or #2. The political motivations of those advocating a new test are relevant, whether you think so or not. If one believes that the National Institute for Minamata Disease has not been politically compromised, it seems reasonable to accept their tests as adequate for this case.

[ The situation in Taiji is also nothing like the situation under which the Supreme Court ruled about the alternative testing method. Different situations call for different tests. ]

James you brought up a lot of What ifs. Rightfully so – so where are the answers for your legitimate questions.

The only real question there is whether they attempted to test everyone. I only skimmed the report, but couldn’t find that information (the pdf is linked in my last comment – you can check it if you like). If they did try to test every single person, they probably would have mentioned it. I got the impression that they considered a sample size of 1,100 to be adequate for that round of testing. They were able to compare the results from several hundred Taiji residents who ate dolphin meat to the results from several hundred Taiji residents who did not regularly eat it. The report mentions that the research will continue.

The rest of those “legitimate” questions were examples of wild speculation. No matter how large a sample size is involved, unless 100% of Taiji’s residents are forced to go tests, re-tests, and re-tests of re-tests, there will always be a chance to engage in wild speculation like that. Most health studies are based on samples of less than 100% of a population, so casting doubt through wild speculation is rarely constructive or helpful.
ponta

flowby

” Would you want as full and thorough health check for your family as is available if you were in their situations?””

Unless there is no further reason to doubt the research , I would have no reason to want fuller health checks if I were in their situations..

“I’m NOT talking about American beef – geeez, where did that come from???”

Of course from America.

Let me ask

“Would you want as full and thorough health check for your family as is available if you were in their situations with regard to the consumption of the U.S beef?

This question is relevant because if you answer yes to the one and no to another, your persistent questioning might reveals some bias on your part though you keep saying “I have no take on the consumption of dolphin one way or the other”, and if you answer yes to both, perhaps it shows you are in the minority.
flowby

Thanks James & Ponta

I’ll try to keep it short.

My situation in brief. I’ve been interested in food safety for at least 25 years.

I gave up all meat except seafood 25 years ago primarily because of the issues with the intensive animal husbandry industry, especially the use of chemical agents be they medicines, protein boosters or whatever. Also the methods of such industrial farming leave a lot to be desired.

As more knowledge of pollutant effects on the fish industry came to light Ias a fish eater became very concerned. In particular I’ve been following testing results of seafood populations of the Seito-Nai-Kai for much of the past 2 decades, in particular Osaka Bay region, Ehime and Hiroshima. The existance of high levels of heavy metals, pcb’s, dioxin etc has and continues to be a concern of mine. There is building slowly but surely, a collective of evidence that can’t be ignored re the degrading of our suppposedly healthy seafood sources – around the world. I have not eaten large predatory fish for quite some time eg tuna.

So my case on this issue has little to do with – for the umpteenth time – the anti-Taiji dolphin hunting crowd. I have been interested in these issues before The Cove was a sparkle in anyones eye.

So please give me a little leeway to state a view and ask a question that is not loaded with intent to malign.

And if I’m in the socalled “minority” then so be it.

But I will suggest to you against your judgement it seems, that if and when the time comes for you or your family or friends needing up to the moment investigative medical diagnosis – please DON’T accept the first general report – get a 2nd opinion or better still a 3rd.

Roppongi Health

Welcome to the world of mass media, professor!
Level3

Serious question.

How many of you think The Cove engaged in trickery to present a biased documentary, yet think Michael Moore earned his Oscar for Best Documentary for Fahrenheit 911?

I think both used similar tactics, both are biased, neither are true documentaries.

At least The Cove people kinda got off their asses and did cool stuff with hidden cameras and such. We did get to see what the dolphin hunt looks like, we did get to see how Japanese cops operate. Still…

There is some truth in each, but we have to research to figure out what’s BS and what’s true. And for stuff like this, it seems the more you research, the more those tricked into interviews explain the editing tricks, we realize the percentage of BS just keeps going up.

Sad thing is, for those who WANT to accept everything, research is not on the To-Do list, they gobble it all up without question.

fish taco

I think the problem with many modern “documentaries” is the people making them begin with a preconceived idea of the truth and simply try to create evidence to support that idea, rather than trying to feature an unbiased truthful film.
Concerned Filipino

What does Fahrenheit 9/11 have to do with this again?

Hage Oyaji

I´m not very interested in hearing what these anti whale clowns have to say about mercury. As if they care about the health of the people who actually eat whales or dolphins. Are these same people going tell others to stop smoking cigarettes and eat a Mc Donalds, and drink beer?
Best to ignore these people. Their data is not credible.

It is better to listen to the scientists and people of cultures where they actually eat whale and dolphin meat. Japan, Norway, Iceland, Alaska, Greenland, Canada etc. There is an ongoing research about mercury in whales and dolphins. It is in the interest of governments, scientists to make sure that they have a healthy population. According to the Faroese governments, there have been issued health warnings to pregnant women and children to eat pilot whales, the same types of whales which are eaten in Taiji. Obviously it is impossible to have 0 mercury in our bodies, the argument is how much mercury can one have before it becomes dangerous? I think scientists among whaling countries are debating this. To say that dolphin meat is dangerous is a highly simplistic opinion. It should be how much dolphin is safe to eat per week. How many grams. That´s how you measure it.
samuel welsh

not credible probely liying

helical

Protip: Poor spelling is detrimental to your own credibility.

Japanese Professor Denounces “The Cove”

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