KCNA Comments on Japan's Whaling

Pyongyang, June 30 (KCNA) -- Days ago, a whaling ship set sail from Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture of Japan.

This ship will reportedly hunt whales in the Pacific until mid-November together with a factory mother-ship that will leave a port in Hiroshima Prefecture.

Japanese fishing boats' massive involvement in whale-hunting was a hot topic of media in April.

Japan's such selfish behavior of pushing fishing boats into whale hunting for making profits, dismissive of the international community's strong opposition, is a shameless act unique to Japan, which brings to light the true nature of the island nation that doesn't hesitate to exterminate the protected animal, the asset common to mankind, for the sake of its own interests.

As well known, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986 to protect the whales from extinction.

Nevertheless, far from observing the decision of the International Whaling Commission, Japan has caught an average of 850 whales a year under the pretext of "scientific survey and study" by abusing the commission's permission to catch some for scientific research.

The International Tribunal Court ruled that Japan's whaling "for scientific survey" should be halted immediately, labeling it as an illegal act for making profits in March 2014. Despite the international community's such rejection, Japan went so shameless as to scale up its whaling.

To hunt whales, not bound by law, it took off the disguise of "survey and study" and even withdrew from the IWC.

After resuming commercial whaling, Japan makes a frontal challenge to the efforts of the international community to improve and protect the whale resource while justifying its indiscriminate whaling as a "traditional culture."

There are many countries in the world and each country has its own cultures and traditions. But it is only Japan that brazenly commits a crime against mankind, considering it as its culture.

Japan's such despicable behavior is not surprising in view of the fact that it describes its "war for greater east Asia" that brought untold misfortune and pain to mankind in the last century as "war of justice".

Being indifferent to the whales on the verge of extinction and hastened destruction of ecological environment, Japan seeks its own interests only. It is a barbarous state that deserves denunciation by mankind and a dangerous country that leaves no stone unturned for its immediate, trifling profits.

Japan should stop its act of wrecking the cradle of human civilization immediately, well aware of the catastrophic consequences to be entailed by its whale-hunting. -0-