Monday, June 14, 2010
Whale Slaughter in Chiba, Japan (Photo: Koichi Kamoshida, Getty Images)
Japan’s effort to overturn the moratorium on commercial whaling may have hit a snag following an investigation by the Sunday Times of London that found Japanese officials are bribing officials on the International Whaling Commission (IWC).
Posing as representatives of a billionaire conservationist, the Times reporters captured on tape officials from six countries—St. Kitts and Nevis, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Grenada, Guinea and Ivory Coast—who were willing to sell their votes on the IWC. Their cooperation could be bought by foreign aid from Japan, or direct bribes in the form of cash payments or prostitutes.
When asked by the newspaper about the bribes, Japanese officials denied they have tried
buying votes on the IWC. The commission is scheduled to meet this month in Morocco to discuss Japan’s proposal for lifting the whaling ban.
-Noel Brinkerhoff
Flights, Girls and Cash Buy Japan Whaling Votes (Sunday Times of London)
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