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 As an animal rights activist, I would like to believe that if we simply tell the Japanese people that it is inhumane and unethical to kill whales they will listen and turn against whaling. Unfortunately, such is not the case. But if we inform them of the hidden facts behind whaling, their opinion about the industry is likely to change.
An effective pro-whaling tool is money. Also, pro-whaling Japanese defend their positions on the basis of Japanese tradition and culture. But are those the real reasons for protecting whaling while we let so many other "traditional" and "cultural" customs die and not even care?
Contrary to what people in other countries have been led to believe, most Japanese are not supporters of whaling. In fact, they are quite ignorant about it. This is partly because the media rarely gives coverage to those who take a stand against whaling since the media is under pressure from special interest groups not to publish news that can be detrimental to the whaling industry. The Ministry of Agriculture, Forests and Fisheries (MAFF) ensures continued appropriations of funds for the whaling industry. These funds are then used to buy pro-whaling votes at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to promote the whaling industry. MAFF officials want to maintain the status quo, because many of them get re-employed there, after retiring from their civil services. And moreover, the Institute of Cetacean Research (ICR) that is supposed to be conducting scientific research has become a pro-whaling public relation arm of the industry.
With the slowing Japanese economy, and declining living standards the public, if it knew the truth, would never stand for its tax money being diverted to the special interest groups. It might take a little time and effort to bring these out to the public eyes, since the supporters of the whaling industry cannot continue keeping the public in the dark forever.
Another issue with whaling that will turn the public against it is the contamination of whale meat. In June 2008, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) published "Poisonous Policies - Japan's Failure to Stop the Sale of Polluted Whale, Dolphin and Porpoise Products," a well-researched report revealing that whale, dolphin and porpoise meat on sale in Japan contains toxic chemicals such as PCBs and mercury well above the safe recommended levels making it unfit for human consumption. Although the information is available in Japanese, it has been totally blacked out by the Japanese media.
Then came "The Cove." This Academy-award winning documentary on the Japanese coastal whaling (dolphin hunt) aroused quite a bit of controversy among the Japanese public. Although the film did not overwhelmingly change the public opinion, but it did to some extent raise public attention toward this evil practice. It is now up to us who work to protect non-human animals to keep this long-awaited attention of the public on the whaling and educate them about the facts: who benefits and who suffers. Incidentally, it is quite ironic that principle-driven anti-whaling campaigns such as run by Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, for some reasons e.g., national pride, have actually helped the Japanese government in mobilizing domestic support for a conduct that would have otherwise gone unnoticed.
I believe our campaigns of saving animals can succeed when we stop drawing attention toward our actions and start focusing on problems that do matter. 
The writer is a board member of ALIVE (All Life in a Viable Environment), a registered Japanese non-profit organization. Web: www.alive-net.net/english/en-aboutus/index.html. Email:masako_m_2000@yahoo.com
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