JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION
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- Assistant Language Teacher (ALT) in Kanto region
- RCS (RCSコーポレーション), Kanto
- Salary: ¥180,000 ~ ¥250,000 / Month includes performance bonus
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- Assistant Language Teacher - TOKYO - late-March start
- Interac, Tokyo
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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- Assistant Language Teacher - Kanagawa Prefecture - late-March start
- Interac, Kanagawa
- Salary: ¥230,000 ~ ¥255,000 / Month
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funkymofo
Timorborder, Successive Australian and NZ governments have refused approval for entry of the whaling ships into port and recently the Nisshin Maru was turfed out of Surabaya (Indonesia) as well, where it was seeking repair. The CO2 emissions you mentioned are also a valid point I think. I don't know how much CO2 is dumped into the atmosphere by the whalers, but it bears investigation. The fleet is usually about 3 harpoon ships, one factory ship and I think the Japanese Government may be sending another ship to 'observe' this year.
Posted in: Australian PM threatens legal action against Japan over whaling
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funkymofo
Timorborder,
No Japanese whaling ships are allowed into any ports in Australia or New Zealand.
Posted in: Australian PM threatens legal action against Japan over whaling
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funkymofo
The member nations have voted to create the Southern Whale Sanctuary and support a moratorium on whaling. Japan ignores both.
Scientific research is not banned. The 'scientific research' carried out by the Japanese Government as a cover for commercial whaling is and has been actively discouraged by the IWC.
You may be right, but I'll defer to their legal opinion rather than yours, thanks.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
The IWC is the primary international body for whaling.There are 24 countries in the IWC. Any country can join if it wants to. Out of the 24, 23 voted for the establishment of the whale sanctuary. If your contention is that the international community supports whaling then please provide evidence of your own. Japan voted against it and has refused to honour the agreement. They do not 'allow Japan to hunt a certain amount of whales for research', and if you did in fact do some research of your own, you would see that every single year it specifically and directly instructs Japan to stop the slaughter, calling into question the spurious claims of 'scientific research'. The poachers have been found guilty the only time they were legally challenged. The international community has repeatedly asked Japan to cease and desist from whaling. What further evidence do you need? I wonder whether you offer the same protection to the Sea Shepherd organisation. They've never been prosecuted in any court and have repeatedly challenged the Japanese Government to try. Predictably the Japanese would rather stick to bribing small nations in the IWC, pathetic attempts to pressure the governments of other countries (as in the original article) and utilising loopholes or completely ignoring international conventions. One gets the feeling that a legal battle, with the probable result of opening up the entire operation to severe scrutiny, is the last thing that Japan wants.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
Apologies for the terse reply, but time is short today and your continued attempts to obfuscate the issue prove nothing. The IWC established the sanctuary with a 23-1 majority. It's ridiculous that Japan refuses to comply. The case has been tried and a precedent established. That it is difficult to prosecute does not speak to the legality of Japan's position or it's blatant disregard for international opinion.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
Establishment of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary was agreed upon by the IWC in 1994 with 23 countries supporting the agreement and only Japan opposing it.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
Mrusa, 1. Do your own research. 2. Have a look at this article on the creation of the whale sanctuary. http://weblog.greenpeace.org/oceandefenders/archive/2006/12/iwastherehowthesouth1.html 3.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
Mrusa,
According to three separate panels of independent, international legal experts (commissioned by IFAW), Japan’s whaling program breaches numerous international laws and treaties including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the Antarctic Treaty System, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) and the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling.
Source: IFAW http://www.ifaw.org/ifawunitedkingdom/mediacenter/pressreleases/02082008_4484.php
and... Kyodo Senpaku Kaisha's offenses are having "killed, injured, taken and interfered with Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) and fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus) and injured, taken and interfered with humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) in the Australian Whale Sanctuary..."
This landmark ruling proves without a doubt that the Japanese are committing an offence by continuing to operate in the whale sanctuary. Wriggle as they must, the Japanese argue that they do no recognise the sovereignty of the Antarctic waters, the fact remains they have been found guilty in a court of law. As I mentioned before, only Japan doesn't recognise the sanctuary.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
They kill whales in an International Whale Sanctuary, Japan is the only country that doesn't recognise the sanctuary. The IWC has repeatedly asked Japan to cease and desist. The Japanese fleet are therefore poaching illegally and deserve everything they get. Do you support ivory poachers in Africa? Same deal. These arguments, as the moderators have suggested have been fully explored in other threads.
Australia should make no attempt to provide assistance to poachers. Were Japan not such a major trading partner of Australia, I'm sure they would pursue the whalers more stridently as they ARE breaking Australian law. This is a large part of the reason the whaling ships are unable to dock in Australian ports. It's also the reason Japan was sending refuelling ships into Antarctic waters- which is also illegal. They were banned from such activity, but I believe the ban runs out this year, so the Japanese may try to do it again this season.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
Kidding, right?
Moderator: Readers, please do not rehash the same old arguments. Your comments should focus on the new Japanese government's request to Australia.
Posted in: Okada asks Australia to help stop attacks by anti-whalers
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funkymofo
Yeah, Aichi too...
Posted in: H&M opens flagship store in Shibuya
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funkymofo
It seems most Japanese parents consider a "Baby on Board" a more effective piece of safety equipment than a seatbelt or child seat.
Posted in: Woman, child not wearing seatbelts fall out of car at intersection
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funkymofo
...art and Tu Plang are great,too. Ditto to tetsukon. Awesome band
Posted in: Regurgitator hope to savor big-in-Japan feeling again
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funkymofo
Tried to eat the sun this morning, but my arms are too short- will use a ladder tomorrow.
Posted in: Miyuki Hatoyama claims her soul traveled to Venus on UFO
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funkymofo
Yuriotani,
People aren't bragging, they're commemorating the end of a war that killed millions. Japan was attempting an extraordinarily vicious imperial expansion and the world is happy that they were stopped. As others have mentioned, it's not just America that commemorates this day. If you're angry because others are 'bragging', perhaps you need to re-examine the reasons for the conflict in the first place. Let's talk about who was bringing the boot down on whom in the 30's and early 40's.
Millions of people will continue to commemorate victory in the Pacific. Japanese will continue rolling around in black buses broadcasting imperial military anthems. Perhaps you'd like to ask some Chinese about rubbing salt into wounds the next time your politicians visit Yasukuni. It's all rather relative, isn't it?
A large part of the reason these days are commemorated is to draw attention to the lessons of war, that they might help us make different choices in the future. It's therefore imperative in my opinion that these sites are remembered and preserved, especially in the light of the Uyoku and nationalistic elements in Japan, and others in many other countries seeking to ignore and rewrite history.
No-one expects or wants your thanks. Lives lost are lives lost. Many people do however expect and want Japan to take a look at it's own actions, beyond whitewashing them with statements like 'Japan did a lot of very bad things' followed by how terrible retaining the ship where a despicable regime was at least partly called to account is.
Posted in: WWII vets mark Japan's surrender aboard battleship
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funkymofo
Classic.
Posted in: Star of Taiji dolphin-hunt film wants to win over Japan
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funkymofo
Yeah, more guns- that's obviously the solution.
Posted in: Shooting kills 8 revelers in Mexican coastal town
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funkymofo
Mexico is well on it's way to becoming a failed state. Police are too corrupt or scared to do anything. Mexico's cross to bear is that it's right next to the largest drug market in the world and provides a perfect staging point for importation from the rest of South America. Three cheers for the war on drugs.
Posted in: Shooting kills 8 revelers in Mexican coastal town
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funkymofo
So they must be bad, huh?!
Who decides what's weird and what's moderate? You? Unless the child is harmed, and though I've not been following this pathetic drama with the same dedication and missionary zeal you obviously have, that doesn't seem to be the case. Calling them disgusting is a value judgment that you are not qualified to make on the basis of the skewed and hysterical mass media feeding frenzy that's occurring.
Posted in: Noriko Sakai’s love triangle with best friend and husband
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funkymofo
What's disgusting is the relentless schadenfreude, voyeurism and judging of other people and their lives. You don't know them, you get your information about their lives from tabloid articles and hysterical 'wide' shows and you judge that they're bad people because their choices apparently don't fit within your value system. Just say it- they don't do what I do so they're bad.
Don't worry, I'm sure there'll be some lascivious articles for you to delight in over the next few days.
Get real indeed.
Posted in: Noriko Sakai’s love triangle with best friend and husband