Okada calls for respect for culture amid criticism of dolphin hunting

Saturday 17th October, 06:41 AM JST

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Dilbert14 at 07:06 PM JST - 20th October

Davida,

As for Okada's comment, this guy is the Minister of Foreign Affairs and has an army of advisors telling him stuff. If his advice is that there are lies in the movie, then that's his advice and he can comment based upon it.

Regardless of what he heard, without presenting his counter argument and pointing out lies told in the movie, his remarks can't be taken seriously.
Dilbert14 at 08:00 PM JST - 20th October

Davida,

Small minority cultures deserve respect and tolerance.

As long as their actions doesn't result death and suffering of sentinent beings that the rest of the world loves and respects.

Your culture kills intelligent sentient beings too, so what are you complaining about.

My culture doesn't hunt and kill whales/dolphins. Whales and dolphins are not like cows and pigs. They can't be farmed. They are free animals that been here way before we were. They understand the uniqueness of humans and try to communicate. They are fellow beings we share the earth with. They deserve our respect, not harpoons and cove slashing. I'm complaining about the ones that want to kill instead of preserve. The ones chose destroying over protecting. The ones that are so selfish, they don't mind poisioning the public for their personal gain, while killing what rest of the world wants to preserve.

Respecting your views and obeying your views by abandoning one's own culture are entirely different things. You are talking like a cultural supremacist.

Can't that be said for people like yourself as well? Aren't you demanding the whole world to respect your ways, no matter how cruel it seems to rest of the world? If countries of the world decides to protect these animals, thinking that you should be exempt from this rule, isn't that cultural supremacy?

Whales and dolphins are migratory animals. They pass by all the other continents and countries safely, before they are slaughtered in Japan.

In your dream world maybe. Read a little more about cetacean biology before trying to use it as a basis for an argument huh.

So are you saying they are not migratory? Do they live in the same spot all the time? Didn't really understand what you mean here. Please enlighten us.

Becky is sweet. She ain't going to behave like no cultural imperialist.

Becky is sweet! She loves animals. If she saw chips like pankun being tortured to death, she will at least cry. Who knows, if she sees an opportunnity to free them before they are slughtered, she may take her change. Just in case you don't know, I'm reffering to video in link. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3chsx1gpyjA

Your lack of respect for other cultures makes you appear to be a Stone Age savage to me. But I tolerate you, and try to talk sense into you. This is tolerance, but I must admit I've lost respect.

Thanks for trying, but forward is the way to the future, not backwards. Your anchient ways are destined to die. Time of making money by killing free animals is passing. There are more people wanting to preserve than destroy. Earlier you understand that, earlier you can look for better way to live. C'mon, leave the dark side and join with us on the side of peace, love and respect to all gods beings.

Diversity in nature is not becuase we can have diverse choices of food.
Soochi at 11:43 PM JST - 20th October

Whales and dolphins are not like cows and pigs. They can't be farmed.

Blimey! Don't tell my kids, they love "Barnyard" and "Babe".

Oh, you were right about one thing though, Becky does love animals.....

http://www.japanprobe.com/2008/11/17/becky-eats-a-ducks-tongue/
bdiego at 07:26 AM JST - 21st October

Japanese don't want to see or know about the actual slaughter either. This isn't a cultural issue. More accurately, he should be asking that "You just mind your own business here, because there are things about your own country you aren't proud of either." In which case I'd agree!
bdiego at 07:30 AM JST - 21st October

You certainly can preserve and exploit at the same time. You set aside one large preserve that can never be touched, and you set aside another area of land which is exploited with sustainable farming. This happens in forestry and fish farming to a degree, although it certainly doesn't live up to ideals. When you fish farm, you are supplying fish without depleting fish reserves in the wild. Of course, there's pollution and ecological damage in many farms, but to say it's meta-physically impossible and can never be done right is quite a stretch.
taiko666 at 10:57 AM JST - 23rd October

This thread is more of the same- people who are understandably shocked at this brutal practice v PC drones who think that all cultures should be respected, whatever sordid practices they get up to (Incoming PC drone alert ... 3,2,1 ..."Define sordid")

But the point of this article is the 'mixed reaction' of Japanese viewers of The Cove. To me, this is not in the least surprising. Before The Cove story broke, whenever I mentioned the Taiji dolphin slaughter to Japanese, they were either angry that I would make up such vile lies about Japan, totally incredulous, or actually burst into tears (this really happened.) But now I expect that these same people are now defending the Taiji bloodbath purely because foreigeners are criticising 'beautiful Japanese culture.' The 'wareware nihonjin' factor trumps their own misgivings.
davidattokyo at 12:06 PM JST - 23rd October

The 'wareware nihonjin' factor trumps their own misgivings.

When exposed to biased one-sided propaganda everyone would have misgivings.
davidattokyo at 12:11 PM JST - 23rd October

PC drones who think that all cultures should be respected

Ouch... so it's "politically correct" to think that even minority cultures should be respected. Hmmm, great I am looking forward to more needless violence and wars. (I always thought it was politically correct to think whales were too good for killing, and felt a bit naughty for not toeing the line)
Junnama at 12:19 PM JST - 23rd October

"This thread is more of the same- people who are understandably shocked at this brutal practice v PC drones who think that all cultures should be respected, whatever sordid practices they get up to (Incoming PC drone alert ... 3,2,1 ..."Define sordid")"

This reminds me: there are two types of people in this world: those who think in binary (either yes or no, black or white) and those who don't.
taiko666 at 02:26 PM JST - 23rd October

When exposed to biased one-sided propaganda everyone would have misgivings

I meant their own misgivings/disgust/distress at the dolphin cull.

My point about PC drones is that they don't care who or what suffers, so long as they maintain their own PC kudos. And there seems to be no limit to the suffering these PC drones are willing to observe others endure. They mustn't interfere of course, no no no, because it's all culture. Can't criticise certain cultures for killing female babies... it's their culture. Can't critisise brutal dolphin slaughter... it's their culture. Different degrees of the same, selfish PC dogma.
taiko666 at 02:29 PM JST - 23rd October

Junnama

I take it you're one of the 'binary' thinkers: criticising somebody else's culture is always wrong.
Junnama at 02:31 PM JST - 23rd October

"I take it you're one of the 'binary' thinkers: criticising somebody else's culture is always wrong."

If you missed the irony of my statement, I can't say anything else...
taiko666 at 03:01 PM JST - 23rd October

I grasped the irony of the binary joke, but failed to grasp adequately its application to the current discussion.
Junnama at 03:16 PM JST - 23rd October

I'm being intentionally obtuse. One assumes everyone is like themselves. Neither side can consider that people think differently.

These type of conversations are quite 無益....nobody will be convinced on the other side.

Personally, I think we can judge what is clearly right and wrong and this dolphin case in not clearly right or wrong to me...for what it's worth.
davidattokyo at 06:41 PM JST - 23rd October

Criticism is fine, but there comes a point where people have to accept that although they voiced their criticism, their criticism wasn't convincing and nothing changed.

At that point, one can be a real prat and keep criticism anyway, which is pretty arrogant and quite obviously likely to be insulting to the targets of the criticism... or one can be adult and learn to be tolerant and respectful of these cultural differences, in recognition of the reality that different people have different opinions, and only fascists would declare themselves "right".