Well, this is going to be a long post. First of all, I agree that the slaughter of dolphins is just plain wrong. I also believe that slaughterhouses are just plain wrong, too. However, being able to speak Japanese and having Japanese friends gives me the advantage to see both sides of this issue, and I doubt "The Cove" will ever be making a big impact in Japan, and I'll explain it here, and also explain how to effectively stop this kind of thing.
First of all, the Japanese find the West's outcry against this act to be exceedingly hypocritical. They say, "So, it's it okay for Americans to breed animals in horrendous living conditions, deprive them of any sense of freedom, and then slaughter them by the thousands, which is probably the most merciful thing they ever do towards these animals. On the other hand, it's not okay for this little village to kill some dolphins, which is just a drop in the bucket compared to all the livestock slaughtered yearly, and certainly isn't pushing the species to extinction." According to them, it reeks of ethnocentrism.
Now, I know that in America we tend to put price tags on animals. We say to ourselves, "Well, my cat/dog/bird is way more valuable than that pheasant. Obviously it's okay to kill that and not my own pet." The activists in this particular documentary say it's all about "self awareness", but that's a.) a very human way of looking at things, and b.) I personally believe that all animals possess self-awareness, at least to a certain degree, and you shouldn't need Koko, the signing gorilla, to tell you that.
As a hobby farmer myself, I can tell you that these hooved and feathered creatures are basically dogs with feathers and hooves. Ever been snuggled by a goose? I guarantee you'll never eat one again! Ever had your life literally saved by a cow who intentionally placed herself in danger to save you? I guarantee, McDonald's Big Macs will make you cry.
In fact, I bid you to check out this documentary entitled, "The Emotional World of Farm Animals" part 1 here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D1R9kaiA-Iw
Now, before I continue, I'd like to point out the Japanese viewpoint on this. First of all, the Japanese were staunch vegetarians (the only meat that they would eat were local fish) for many years. It was the West that reintroduced the concept of eating meat to them. Why were they vegetarians? Because the Japanese perception is that if you eat any kind of meat at all, you're guilty. To them, placing animals on a hierarchy of value is just plain weird to them, and pointing out the guilt of anything is hypocritical. There are people, as pointed out in this thread, who are angry about the killings, but they remain silent because they see the situation as unfair and anti-Japanese, if you will.
Don't get angry and call them "inactivists" because all they see is foreign idealists telling them how to live their lives. If Japan made a documentary meant to portray Americans as evil, cow-slaughtering individuals, we'd probably get defensive, too, even if we felt that slaughter is wrong. We're more influenced by our friends than by the people who portray us as their enemies, and this documentary seems to go out of its way to portray the Japanese as being evil, even commentating on their prisons - and they incarcerate far less people than the United States, just for the record.
In the end, if you really want to stop this senseless killing, then stop treating the Japanese like they're inhuman. No one wants to watch a documentary created by foreigners that portrays them as evil, and those who do see it get a very different vibe from what Americans do who watch the film. There is a huge cultural divide between east and west, and if you can't understand that, then you shouldn't be making these documentaries.
Understand the Japanese, then you can change them. They aren't Americans, and they see what they're doing to be no different from a slaughterhouse in America. In fact, they get more angry over the senseless killings of black rhinos for their horns alone than most Americans ever will. Learn to understand them, even befriend them, and you'll have much more influence. Activism is good, but most of the time it comes off as ethnocentric.
I would also like to point out that the practice of eating dolphin meat has been waning over time, and it should end soon. The Japanese have a lot of respect for the sea, and their whale watching and recreational scuba diving industries are some of the best in the world. It's not about profit when they kill dolphins - it's about a local tradition, and criticism of it is a demonstration of cultural ignorance. It's not a nation-wide tradition, but we have many traditions in America that most people don't know about, either.
As such, this documentary will probably only prolong this disgusting practice. By attacking someone for their behavior, you create resistance. As I said, you're friends are more influential than your enemies. I fear that this documentary will guarantee the practice goes on longer than end it. Do NOT exploit a terrible practice like this to obtain the moral high ground! Doing so will only create resistance, as we Americans should know because we get defensive when other countries criticise things like our foriegn policy, or Guantanamo and torture. Even if we're against these things ourselves, we don't want China or anyone else telling us.
So, I hope I helped you see how the Japanese percieve this problem, how this kind of activism prolongs the problem, and how to effectively reach the heart of the Japanese people.
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JPfanatic93
12 years ago
Thanks for your insightful post, Akira. I do not buy your 'Japanese have a lot of respect for the sea' comment though. No nation on Earth has done so much damage to the ocean ecosystems as Japan, because of their fish-centered diet (which rules out the vegetarian argument as well, because people who eat fish aren't vegetarians). And it's only getting worse because of the demands for sushi and shark fin soup. 300,000 bucks for a single Blue Fin Tuna? No wonder this species will be extinct soon! And the Japanese don't care enough to stop it.
And then of course there is the whaling issue... this year it's going to be worse than ever, now that the Japanese government has issued mercenaries to protect the whaling fleet. This ridiculous practice is harmful even to the Japanese themselves considering it hurts their whale watching tourism. But once again, the Japanese just sit back and don't take action. They're a passive society and they'll never change, so it's not surprising the call for change will come from outside Japan, whether they like it or not.
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Shantanab-Lone-Voyager
12 years ago
You have mentioned some of the most disturbing facts in that post.
It's true that Japan, being one of the premier nations in the World in terms of wealth and technology, we really expect more active and sincere ecological conservation measures from them.
I do understand that fish is an important (and perhaps necessary) aspect to their lifestyle as their land-cultivation is not enough to feed the population. But depleting the ocean at a insane rate is not a solution : they must develop advanced fish-farming methods, and be extra cautious about sustaining marine life, otherwise the common Japanese people will suffer most in future.
Happiness is only Illusion
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Akira-Takahashi
12 years ago
Japan has a horrific whaling industry, but I think that the actions of a lot of other nations do worse for the ocean. Those of us in the west may not go hunting whales (well, maybe with the exception of a few countries), but we do a lot of harm in other ways.
I don't think you're going to change the Japanese diet. They are some of the healthiest people in the world, sporting the lowest rates of obesity, longest lifespan, and great mental health (omega-3 is essential in a diet to maintain mental health, and experts speculate that if Americans ate more like the Japanese, our rates of mental problems in both children and adults would diminish). Obviously, they're doing something right in their diet.
Not to mention, Japan as an island can't sustain a thriving agricultural society the way other nations can.
However, they really need to practice better fish farming, as another poster said. Many of my Japanese friends are proud to say that the Japanese culture as a whole has a lot of respect for the sea, but to maintain their health and tradition a lot of species become their victims. I think better fish farming is the issue to helping save species such as the Blue Fin Tuna, because trying to force anyone to do anything, even if it's for the better, will come off as aggressive and prompt a defensive reaction.
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Petals121
11 years ago
The reason this movie had to be made was because Japanese government was doing nothing to stop these dolphin killings and there was a cover up to make sure that the general public in Japan didn't know about the killings. And at the same time trick the general public into buying dolphin meat thinking it was whale meat. So why is showing the Japanese public what is happening in their own country wrong? I would have thought that they would be happy to know about this. But maybe they aren't. Maybe it's easier to blame "the West" for trying to force Japan to change it's ways.
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