The truth behind the Fisheries Agency of Japan's public relations campaign
The Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) has stepped up its attempts to resume commercial whaling with a massive public relations campaign. This makes two remarkable claims: that whaling is necessary to control whale populations and keep them from eating too many fish; and that whaling is vital to Japan's culture. As part of the cultural argument, the Fisheries Agency of Japan also claims that Japan's whalers have a special relationship with whales. If these claims were true, it would add a new dimension to the debate over whaling. Let's examine each in turn...
