Unit 6 Written Assignment
Japan and Norway: A cultural case for an exemption from the international ban on whaling.
Introduction and the Japanese and Norwegian position
Japan
Japan is certainly one of the two countries, and the only country, in Asia to make the claim that Whaling should be permitted for certain Whale stocks. The practice of hunting Whales can be traced back to over 1,000 years. And, in turn there are records that show Jimmu, the first Emperor, who rein circa 660BC himself ate Whale meat.
However, it wasn’t until the 17th century, which saw a major development in the techniques associated with hunting Whales. The Meiji era (1868-1912) saw the controversial introduction of armed high speed vessels, inspired by Norwegian
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For example, the impact on small fishing villages would be an economic impact, however it if was effecting a unique culture within a fishing then it would immediately become a cultural one.
So I believe the issue of the economic impact on such fishing villages is a culture one, but an economic issue. However, if the economic impact did breach the cultural activities and change a way of life, then it could certainly be considered to be a cultural issue.
The issues discussed could be balanced by using the cultural argument to oppose the ban on Whaling hunting. However, this is certainly one issue where world opinion is certainly overwhelmingly supportive of the conservation of whales.
It could even be argued that certain aspects of traditional Japanese culture is supportive of Whale conservation as according to tradition Whales are deemed to be “gods of the sea”. To in that respect a modernization of Japanese culture moving away from Whaling altogether could be argued as having minimal culture impact.
Therefore, the Whaling argument on both sides is certainly be a divisive topic for the foreseeable future.
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