Posts Tagged ‘whaling’

Sea Shepherd’s Paul Watson – Interview With an Eco-Terrorist

Photojournalist Yoichi Watanabe and a studio audience of Japanese school children interview Paul Watson, the leader of the radical animal rights group Sea Shepherd:

The video about 15 minutes long. Here is a summary of its contents, followed by a few comments of my own.

Summary

Watson is introduced as a man who the FBI has called an eco-terrorist. His organization of modern day pirates has carried out unforgivable acts of violence against Japanese whaling ships in the Southern Ocean. Sea Shepherd has been obstructing the work of the whaling fleet, even though Japan’s actions are in compliance with international rules.

Before going into greater detail, Watanabe introduces some basic information about Japan’s history of eating whale meat:

Back in the old days, Japanese people didn’t eat beef or pork. Whale meat was seen as a valuable food source.

Japan’s culture of eating whale meat survived into the modern era. It is still served in some school lunches today.

Humans caused whale populations to decline, so international rules were created to protect whale stocks. Japan’s whaling program follows those rules.

However, some countries with no cultural tradition of eating whale meat think it is bad to kill whales. They want Japan to stop. Japan has been trying to defend a culinary tradition that has existed for hundreds of years.

The disagreements between Japan and other countries led to the emergence of Sea Shepherd, a violent extremist group.

The narrator describes the various vehicles that Sea Shepherd has at its disposal. This includes high tech speedboats, a helicopter, and a large boat, which is sometimes used to ram Japanese ships.

Paul Watson is the man in charge of it all. He thinks his organization has the authority to act as police on the high seas, and he thinks that the Japanese whalers are criminals.

Watson’s past actions includes sinking several whaling ships in the 1980′s. His actions have led the FBI to brand him an “eco-terrorist” and Japan has issued an international warrant for his arrest.

Yoichi Watanabe wants to know why Paul Watson thinks it is just to use violence. He wants to know why Sea Shepherd throws bottles of acid at Japanese whaling ships and injures Japanese whalers. He wants to know why Watson denies that Sea Shepherd is using violence.

The popularity of the “Whale Wars” TV series has helped make Watson a hero in some parts of the world. A lot of people don’t seem to care about the Japanese arrest warrant. They like Watson and they support Sea Shepherd.

On the TV show, Watson and his organization are shown as heroes fighting against the evil Japanese murderers. In one famous scene, Watson declares that he had been shot by the Japanese. His bulletproof vest and SS badge supposedly stopped the bullet and saved his life.

Thanks to the shocking claims made on it television program, Sea Shepherd’s income has skyrocketed. But was the assassination attempt real?

A Japanese whaler says it didn’t happen. There was no gunfire. The “muzzle flash” photo that Sea Shepherd had posted on its website was a clock. Watson’s was lying.

They set up an interview Watson. Because of the Japanese arrest warrant, he cannot come to Tokyo to speak to them in person. Instead, they use a live video link. Watanabe and the Japanese audience are joined by Masaaki Sasaki of the Sankei Shimbun, a reporter who is knowledgeable about Sea Shepherd.

Question 1: Is it justifiable to tell lies in the pursuit of your goal?

Watanabe mentions the questionable nature of Watson’s claim to have been shot by the Japanese. Watson claims he never made such a claim. That claim may have come from the show’s producers (Animal Planet). He doesn’t know who fired the shot.

[While Watson is answering, we are shown a clip from the show, in which Watson says that the Japanese ("they") shot him.]

Question 2: Ever since your TV program began to air in 2005, you’ve seen a huge increase in contributions. Do you think it is okay to use a dishonest TV program to raise money?

Watson acknowledges that the television program has been an success, but he resents being called a liar. He says that he has not lied.

Question 3: In your 2002 book Earthforce: An Earth Warrior’s Guide to Strategy, you write that activists should use dramatic tricks to confuse your enemies and use claims of victimization to increase public support for their causes. Isn’t that what you are doing now?

Watson says he wrote that activists should not cause harm to other people. He says it is a book of strategy. It’s kind of like Miyamoto Musahi, only Watson advocates non-violence.

A schoolgirl asks Question 4: We saw video footage of you throwing bottles of acid at Japanese whaling ships. Isn’t that an act of violence?

Watson says his group doesn’t use acid. They throw rotten butter at the whalers.

[As Watson says this, we are shown an image of one of the bottles that was thrown at the Japanese whalers. The word "ACID" is clearly visible on its label.]

He says that Coca-Cola is more acidic than the rotten butter used by Sea Shepherd. It smells really bad (the kids laugh at this line).

Question 5: In the video clips, we can see Sea Shepherd ships ramming Japanese whaling ships. We can also see Sea Shepherd members throwing bottles of chemicals at the Japanese whalers. How do you explain this?

Watson says that Sea Shepherd hasn’t rammed any whaling vessels. They were hit by the whalers. The whalers are trying to murder them, but Sea Shepherd isn’t trying to hurt anyone. Sea Shepherd wants to protect the whales.

Question 6: What about the Japanese crew members who were injured and hospitalized?

Watson says that it’s not true. Nobody was injured by Sea Shepherd. It’s a lie.

Question 7: And What about the Icelandic whaling ships you sank in 1986?

Watson says Sea Shepherd sunk those ships. He challenged Icelandic authorities to arrest him, but they never did.

He says that Sea Shepherd has never hurt anyone in its 35 years of activism. Watson is confident that they have done nothing wrong. He defiantly challenges those who seek to arrest Sea Shepherd members.

Question 8: So you have never used violence?

Watson defines violence as acts that hurt or kill. By this definition, Sea Shepherd does not use violence. The real violence is taking place when intelligent whales are being killed. Staining the seas with blood is violence.

A little boy asks Question 9: If you think it’s bad to kill whales, what do you think of killing cows? In Australia, lots of cows are being killed and eaten.

Watson says he doesn’t eat beef, and neither do his crew members.

Another boy follows up with Question 10: So you don’t eat beef. Is that enough? Why aren’t you trying to protect cows?

Watson says that they are the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Cows do not live in the sea.

Question 11: Why don’t you come to Japan and spread your message?

Watson responds by asking Watanabe to visit Sea Shepherd in the Southern Ocean. After being asked again, Watson says he’d come for a visit if Japan stops whaling.

After the interview, Watanabe makes some closing remarks to the audience. He says that every country has its own unique history and culture, but all agree that violence and dishonesty are wrong. He thinks that the world will judge Watson’s words and deeds.

Comments

Japanese-speakers will no doubt notice that Watson is continually referred to as “the accused” (容疑者). I suppose that it’s not improper to use that term, since Japan has issued a warrant for his arrest. However, I kind of got the impression that they were tying to say it as much as possible so they could emphasize the fact that Watson stands accused of a crime.

This is not an unedited interview. At the very least, cuts were made to speed up the Japanese-to-English and English-to-Japanese translations. Watson’s original English answers were dubbed over with a Japanese voice. Some questions and answers may have been cut, and it could have been put together in a way that deliberately made Watson look bad. His answers, however, were consistent the things he’s being saying for years. I doubt they would have needed to do much editing to make Watson look like a lying douche.

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3 Japanese injured after Sea Shepherd acid attack

Three Japanese whalers have suffered minor injuries after yet another violent attack from the radical animal rights group Sea Shepherd:

The protest boats, which sail under Dutch and Togolese flags, had earlier targeted its factory ship the Nisshin Maru – nicknamed “the floating abbatoir” by Sea Shepherd activitists – and had been following it for several days in the lead up to the skirmish yesterday afternoon.

“The Dutch and Togolese ships continued for several hours their attack launching many butyric-acid projectiles and smoke bombs against the Nisshin Maru,” the institute said in a statement.

The Bob Barker repeatedly fired a high-power illegal laser weapon against the Japanese crew. The Bob Barker also came directly across the bow of the Nisshin Maru deploying wire hawsers intended to sabotage its rudder and propeller.

“At about 2300 hours, three of the Shonan Maru No. 2 sailors who were readying to prevent any activist illegal boarding became victims of the Sea Shepherd projectiles, receiving acid-splash chemical injury to their eyes and face.”

Sea Shepherd have said that they are throwing “harmless” rancid butter that is “not toxic.” While it may not be as terrible as other chemicals, a check of MSDS data reveals it to be harmful and toxic:

Harmful if swallowed or inhaled. Corrosive. Extremely unpleasant smell may cause nausea. Liquid may burn skin and eyes. Readily absorbed through the skin. Severe skin, eye and respiratory irritant.

Here’s how FTV news covered the story yesterday:

We are shown some footage of recent Sea Shepherd attacks on the Japanese whaling fleet, including one clip in which a Sea Shepherd member laughs with glee as his ship collides with a Japanese vessel. FTV also mentions the laser attacks, the stringing of wires to block ships, and the dangerous use of a mini helicopter.

Hilariously, a clip of Sea Shepherd leader Paul Watson denying that they ever threw acid at the Japanese whalers is played while we are shown a photo of Watson doing just that. The results of a Japanese government study confirmed that the bottles being thrown at the Japanese did indeed contain harmful acid.

The second half of the report moves on to Sea Shepherd’s recent declaration of war on “illegal” bluefin tuna fishing in the Mediterranean. As if to openly take a piss on Sea Shepherd, FTV has one of its reporters eat bluefin tuna as she talks about the issue. After she comments on how great it tastes, the narrator explains that Japan, which consumes most of the bluefin tuna caught in the world’s oceans, would be in trouble if the Mediterranean supply was cut off. Europe is leaning towards support of a ban on the trade in bluefin tuna, but it is apparently not yet illegal.

When the report finishes, one of the news anchors in the studio shows her frustration by saying that the Sea Shepherd people really are “like terrorists” in their disregard for international law.

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Why do Australian people go against whaling so much?

The Beat Takeshi “World Summit” program (seen in this previous post) asks its Australian panel members to explain why they don’t like whaling (partially subtitled in English):

A very heated discussion takes place, with the Australians arguing that whales are intelligent and close to humans. When they can’t seem to convince Japanese of the righteousness of their views, the whole thing becomes an emotional screaming match. Foreigners from France, Britain, and Brazil join the argument on the Japanese side. The foreign panelists are eventually asked to vote for or against whaling. Only 16 of the 50 panelists raise their hands to oppose Japanese whaling.

The most hysterical person in the clip is Stuart-O, an Australian tarento whose web profile doesn’t include his nationality and advertises him as a native speaker of American English. He’s got a blog here, which is apparently open to reader comments.

As was noted by Matt in the comment section of the last post, it wasn’t exactly a fair fight. Stuart-O and the other Australians probably came from a talent agency for wannabe celebrities and it is doubtful any of them were experts on the topic they discussing. In contrast, the Chinese team included university professors who were able to debate without looking like screaming idiots.

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Later in the program, the Japanese went back to their smaller base room to talk amongst themselves. Here’s one line that makes a good point about why anti-whaling arguments tend to fail in Japan:

The arrogant attitude of superiority that many anti-whaling activists assume when arguing against Japanese whaling is not helpful.

Note: A Japanese user has uploaded most of the show to YouTube. If you can speak and read Japanese, check it out on this channel.

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Taiji dolphin hunt begins: about 100 dolphins and 50 pilot whales driven into cove

So much for the claims that “The Cove” has halted Japan’s dolphin hunt.

Nikkan Sports reports that weather conditions have improved in Taiji and the town’s fishermen have finally begun their dolphin hunt.

Thirteen fishing boats left Taiji’s harbor this morning around 5:30AM. They located a large group of dolphins and pilot whales, which they promptly surrounded and drove them into a cove. The captured group consists of about 50 pilot whales and 100 bottlenose dolphins. The International Whaling Commission’s ban on whaling does not include bottlenose dolphins or pilot whales. Neither species is classified as endangered.

During this hunting season, Taiji’s fisherman plan to catch about 2400 dolphins.

Update: The Sankei is reporting that 10 dolphins will be captured and sold to aquariums, and that the rest will apparently be returned to the sea. The pilot whales will be sold (for meat?).

Update 2: Mainichi and the Japan Times report that 40 to 50 of the 100 dolphins will be captured to be sold to aquariums, while the rest will be freed. The move is in response to international criticism of the dolphin hunt, but it is not clear whether or not this is something that will last the whole hunting season. The fishermen will slaughter the pilot whales, something that will no doubt anger some activists.　 The Japan Times reports that this year there will be a cull of “240 dolphins and whales,” which I can only assume is a translation error. Mainichi has the figure at 2317, close to the “about 2400″ reported by the Sankei. Last year, the fishermen caught 1484 dolphins and whales. [Hat tip to the Overthinker]

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Japanese-born kid (“whale muncher”) nearly beaten to death by bullies in New Zealand

The above photo shows the injuries sustained by Ryotaro Wright, a Japanese-born New Zealander who was nearly beaten to death by bullies:

The teen, Japanese-born Ryotaro Wright, needed emergency brain surgery in Waikato Hospital after the attack at Forest View High School in Tokoroa this week. Doctors say he was close to death.

Four students have been suspended and police are investigating.

Ryotaro’s father Llewellyn said yesterday his son had been racially abused by four students over the past few weeks, including being called “whale muncher“.

Hopefully those that committed this violent crime will be arrested and thrown in jail.

[via 空]

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Sea Shepherd gets “spaceship” boat

Radical animal rights group Sea Shepherd will be using Earthrace, a futuristic-looking biofueled boat, in its violent activism against Japanese whalers:

“It looks like a spaceship. It can do 40 knots and dive under waves completely. We’ll be using it to intercept and block harpoons.”

In 61 days last year Earthrace circled the globe fuelled by biodiesel. The New Zealand owner/skipper, Pete Bethune, said he decided to become involved because “this is happening in my backyard and it really pisses me off. I’m going to make a stand.”

He said he was adding half a tonne of Kevlar to the vessel to toughen it against the ice. It had the endurance to go half way round the world on a tank of fuel.

“They won’t get away from me,” he said.

Earthrace’s role was unveiled as the International Whaling Commission heard that Sea Shepherd’s protests endangered the lives of whalers in the Southern Ocean last summer when the Steve Irwin was involved in two collisions.

The second season of “Whale Wars,” a reality TV show that serves as a PR engine for Sea Shepherd’s activities, is currently airing on the Animal Planet channel.

[via JapanSoc]

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