New Japanese Minister of Fisheries: You need to deal with that embezzlement thing.
Here's a translation of a letter that Jun, Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan, sent along to the new Minister of Fisheries in Japan, requesting that he take up an investigation into the whale meat embezzlement scandal exposed by our activists. If you're new to the story of how investigators Junichi and Toru ended up under arrest instead of the criminals who were ripping off the Japanese taxpayers and the fat-cat bureaucrats who probably knew it was happening, welcome to the Looking Glass world of the whale meat scandal in Japan.
I'm still hoping this one spins out like the scandal over the sinking of the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior by French agents, back in 1985. I was in France when the "Tricot Report" came out, your basic political whitewash which couldn't find any evidence of French government involvement in the sinking whatsoever. As the evidence mounted and the police and press looked into it further, however, it became pretty clear that -- shock, horror -- a lot of people had lied to Mssr Tricot. One journalist reviewing the evidence declared that the fact that the French were behind the sinking probably could only have been clearer if the Clousseau-like agents had left a baguette, a beret, and a bottle of Beaujolais behind. In the end, the truth came out, the French agents who sent the ship to the bottom with two limpett mines did so on orders from the "highest level" to stop Greenpeace from interfering with the French nuclear weapons testing programme in Moruroa, and the Defense Minister resigned in disgrace.
So, who is going to take up the scandal of embezzlement and the fleecing of the Japanese Taxpayer and figure out how high the corruption goes? No harm in asking the new boss.
Disclosure of evidence regarding “souvenir” whale meat and request for a public explanation from the Nisshin Maru after its return to port following its scientific whaling mission in the North-West Pacific.
Congratulations on taking up office. I believe you are aware that the “scientific whaling” taking place under the control of the Fisheries Agency is being seriously questioned by Greenpeace. In particular, on the 5th of May this year, with the help of a crew member from the “scientific whaling” fleet, Greenpeace revealed to the Tokyo District Public Prosecutor’s Office a wide-spread case of embezzlement involving whale meat. As a result, the former Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister, Mr. Wakabayashi, launched a rigorous internal investigation regarding the handling of whale meat.Following this however, the only matter that has been put into question is the method by which Greenpeace activists came to possess the 23.5 kg box of salted Unesu which was presented to the Tokyo Public Prosecutor’s office as undeniable evidence, and the Prosecutor’s office, on the other hand, has dropped the embezzlement case as a matter of “no suspicion”.
On the 18th of July, the Institute of Cetacean Research and Kyodo-Senpaku released jointly a “report on the issue of whale meat” addressed to the head of the resource management section of the Fisheries Agency. As you know, the report barely contained two pages of facts and was a rather sloppy document, certainly nothing worthy of a report, with no objective evidence attached whatsoever. This document could not possibly have served the purpose of a “report” about the circulation of whale meat not labelled “souvenir”-in other words, the charges of embezzlement brought up by Greenpeace. How much weight can we actually give to this report which allegedly claims that Kyodo-Senpaku and the Institute of Cetacean Research have launched internal investigations and that there is no problem, yet that concerns a matter so serious that it could potentially decide of the fate not only of the company but of scientific whaling in general if the circumstances of the case were fully revealed? It is indispensable to request an investigation from a third party.Moreover, Kyodo-Senpaku and the Institute of Cetacean Research’s joint report does not serve the duty they have to inform tax payers of the whereabouts of tax money especially in light of the large amounts of taxes which are thrown into scientific whaling. Based on the absence of details on this point and the lack of objective evidence, we cannot help but suspect that these organizations are hiding something. In this context, we would like to request the following two points.
1. With regard to the “report on the issue of whale meat” presented to the resource management head of the Fisheries Agency by Kyodo-Senpaku and the Institute of Cetacean Research on the 18th of July, we demand that Kyodo-Senpaku and the Institute of Cetacean Research release concrete evidence capable of convincing tax payers [of the good use of their tax money] (ie: financial records pertaining to the sale and purchase of “souvenir” whale meat between the Institute of Cetacean Research and Kyodo-Senpaku etc.).
2. Since the Nishin Maru, the object of suspision in this case, left port before the Tokyo Prosecutor’s Office dropped the case, we would also like to request that the Nisshin Maru invite a third party (the press, NGOs, Diet members etc.) and hold, immeidately after its return to port scheduled today, a public meeting aboard the vessel to explain their handling of scientific whale meat.
While I understand this represents much work immediately after your appointment as Minister, I would very much appreciate your answer by the 26th of August.
Jun Hoshikawa
Executive Director of Greenpeace Japan
Follow Greenpeace »
