"Debate Over Whale Hunt Focuses On Japan"

"A showdown is expected this week among pro- and anti-whaling nations at a meeting opening Monday in Morocco. Japan, and its steadfast defense of whale hunting, will be the center of attention.

Eighty-eight countries will consider whether to formally sanction commercial whale hunts for the first time in 24 years. The International Whaling Commission will seek a compromise that would allow some whaling, while trying to find a way to get Japan to end its annual hunt in the Antarctic. ...

Japan has consistently argued that whaling is a treasured part of its national culture -- and one that it subsidizes.

But the belligerent pose adopted by Japanese negotiators belies the fact that back home, there is almost no appetite for whale meat or whale hunting."

Lucy Craft reports for NPR's Morning Edition June 21, 2010.

SEE ALSO:

"Whales Closer To Us Than Thought, Say Scientists" (AFP)