Saturday, November 21, 2009


THE END OF JAPANESE WHALING?

YIPPEEE!

As the new J government has been reviewing every budgetary nook and cranny for ingrained spending boondoggles, they have discovered that whaling is one of the doggliest, having basically been subsidized into zombie existence for decades now. Sordidly unsurprising details here.

"A major review of Japanese government spending could spell the end to whaling in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

Commissioned to cut wasteful programmes by Japan's new government, a review committee has proposed massive cuts in subsidies to a body which funds the so-called whaling research programme.

Without government subsidies, the whaling programme would be doomed."

A big hooray of that happens... Maybe they'll do it for tuna too, before they run out...

And all along the whalers have been saying that there was consumer demand...

8 comments:

joared said...

Wow! Let's hope the whaling programme is ended -- yes, and, hopefully, tuna will be next.

steveb said...

Wow! If they allow the entrenched whaling industry to wither away, it'll be probably the most decisive act that I've seen the Japanese government do in my whole 20 years here.

Tabor said...

Good news, at long last, in this arena.

Castaway said...

..next up on the new Japanese government's agenda - requiring foreigners to pay 国民年金 (National Pension) in addition to 国民健康保険 (National Health).

In case you were getting too comfortable with your salary and job security as an English teacher (if any of you are one..)

Shirley Sunman said...

good news, let's hope it happens

Mage said...

Oh, I so hope they do. I'm such a cynic tho.

Anonymous said...

I'd like to read the sordid details but your tiny URL doesn't work for me.

Robert Brady said...

It still works for me, but you can try this: http://www.greenpeace.org/international/news/whaling-victory-in-sight-in-japan-121109