Greenpeace Japan whale campaign coordinator Junichi Sato weighs 23.5 kilograms of whale meat taken by crew of the Nisshin Maru whaling ship. The contents of the box were listed as "cardboard".
Whale meat from Japan's so called scientific whaling program is being taken unlawfully by crew of the whaling fleet and sold on the blackmarket, according to reports from Greenpeace.
Junichi Sato, Greenpeace Japan whales campaign coordinator, said: "The information we have gathered indicates that the scale of the scandal is so great, it would be impossible for the ship's operating company, Kyodo Senpaku, not to know. Kyodo Senpaku is turning their back on large scale corruption and theft of taxpayers' money. What we need to know now, through a full public inquiry, is who else is profiting from the whaling program? Who else has allowed this fraud to continue?"
Working from information given by former and current Kyodo Senpaku employees, Greenpeace secretly documented the offloading of smuggled whale meat into a special truck following the Nisshin Maru's return earlier this year, on April 15. Greenpeace then tracked the consignment from the ship to a depot in Tokyo.
Greenpeace delivered the evidence, including the whale meat, to the Public Prosecutor's office in Tokyo, calling on it to make a full public inquiry. Greenpeace said: "We're also calling for an end to the $4.7 million taxpayer subsidies for the program, and for the license of the company operating the whale hunt, Kyodo Senpaku, to be withdrawn. "
Greenpeace produced a 30-page report of its investiagtion. Dowload it here
Harpooned: Greenpeace exposes scandal at heart of whaling
