IKANの倉澤七生は「調査捕鯨の計画については、これまでIWC科学委員会の評価も含め、国際的な批判を受けてきましたが、計画だけではなく実施体制そのものが矛盾をはらんだ無理なものであったことが今回明らかになりました。もとから破綻した計画を、南極海での調査妨害活動のせいにして隠蔽し、愛国心に訴えて不適切な税金投入を繰り返す愚かなまねを即刻やめ、この貴重な資金を必要としている被災地のために使うよう、私たちは強く求めます」と述べました。
グリーンピース・ジャパン事務局長の佐藤潤一は、「調査捕鯨の赤字補てんに復興予算が使われることは、本来の趣旨に反するのみならず、国内外から日本政府への不信感を高めるだけです。被災地復興や漁業復興に予算が使われるために、会計検査院、そして衆議院決算行政監視委員会で正当な使途調査が行われるべきで、もしも復興に使われていなかった場合、補助金は返還されるべきです」と述べました。
注1) 水産庁 第3次補正￢予算案「鯨類捕獲調査安定化推進対策」
注2) 共同要望書「調査捕鯨に使われた震災復興予算の調査と返還を求める」
【要請書の主旨】
要請1：調査捕鯨に投入された平成23年度の震災復興予算22億8400万円の用途・内訳を詳細に調査すること。
要請2：復興予算が、当初の目的とされた被災地石巻の復興にどのように役立ったかの調査を行うこと。またその効果が、投入額に見合うものであったか、見合わなければ補助金の返還を要請すること。
要請3：商業捕鯨であるべきではない調査捕鯨への「もうかる漁業」補助金の適用は、筋違いの補助金流用であるため、取り消しを要請すること。
要請4：長年にわたり補助金を投入し続けてきたにもかかわらず、日本鯨類研究所が鯨肉需要の低迷から債務超過に陥ったことを考慮し、調査捕鯨事業そのものへの補助金投入の見直しを行うこと。
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Fukushima victims go without as disaster recovery funds spent on whaling debt
Tokyo, October 5, 2012 _ Greenpeace Japan and the Dolphin & Whale Action Network (IKAN) today called on the Board of Audit of Japan to conduct a full, transparent investigation into the misuse of 2.28 billion yen in tsunami recovery funds (1). The organisations argue that the money has been used to pay off crippling whaling industry debt at the expense of health checks for nuclear workers and aid for struggling Fukushima communities.
Japan’s 2011 ‘research’ whaling operation lost 1.62 billion yen, which would have all but bankrupted the Institute of Cetacean Research had 1.8 billion yen not been misappropriated from the recovery fund. Even more scandalous is that the whaling buy-out it is three times the 620 million yen the government budgeted for health check-ups for the most heavily exposed Fukushima Daiichi workers (2).
“The Fisheries Agency justified taking money from the recovery fund by saying it would help the Ishinomaki community recover from the March 11 triple disaster,” said Junichi Sato, Greenpeace Japan Executive Director. “If this community has not benefited significantly from this money, then every last yen must be repaid so it can actually go to those that desperately need it.”
Despite the extra subsidies, declining demand for whale meat – illustrated by three-quarters of the most recent hunt going unsold at auction and a stockpile of thousands of tons of unsold meat _ has left the industry seeking even more taxpayer money. Last week the ICR was been granted approval to request money from Japan’s ‘Profitable Fisheries Support Fund’, despite long standing claims that it is a non-commercial operation.
“So called ‘scientific’ whaling is not supposed to be commercial, so it should not be granted money from the Profitable Fisheries Support Fund,” said Nanami Kurasawa, head of IKAN. “Worse still, as this fund exists to support small-scale coastal fishing operations that are still struggling after the Fukushima disaster, it is absolutely wrong for this corrupt industry to take money away from them.”
“It has been clear for many years that Japan’s whaling industry is on the rocks. The Japanese government cannot allow this corrupt operation to take any more money from taxpayers and the victims of the Fukushima disaster with impunity,” concluded Sato.
Greenpeace is an independent global campaigning organisation that acts to change attitudes and behaviour, to protect and conserve the environment, and to promote peace.
NOTES:
1) Greenpeace Japan and IKAN letter to the Board of Audit of Japan and
the Minisitry of Finance (Japanese)
2) Recovery funding allocation chart (Japanese)
