Sea Shepherd ruining the image of those from the West living in Japan



Sea Shepherd ruining the image of those from the West living in Japan



Sea Shepherd Captain Kangaroo

A good friend, an American living in Japan for around seventeen years wrote the following email in reference to Sea Shepherd / Cove Guardians activities in Taiji, Japan:



I'm sure I don't need to tell you, but the sea shepherd guys are back in Wakayama, near the airport of Osaka - all over the news, bothering the people of Taiji again. (flashing lights, yelling, throwing things, harassing townsfolk, etc.)

It really stinks for foreigners like myself who live here legitimately because it hurts our reputations in the eyes of the Japanese and creates a stigma around us - when I have to go to the immigration office, do my grocery shopping, whatever the case might be, it's like wearing a big black X on my forehead.


Sea Shepherd Cove Guardians

 Also, I used to live in a small fishing village - these fishermen are doing what people in those towns have done for centuries... and they are doing it sustainably. The Japanese know far more about environmental sustainability than any of the countries the SS crew are from.

What really blows my mind, is how do they even get disembarkment permission (visas)? I am married (to a Japanese lady) and even I have a hard time getting a visa - and I've lived here for over a decade.
 

Sea Shepherd "Wanted"

Anyway, I won't preach to the choir - I know you probably know more about these guys than me. It just burns me up - and there's really nothing I can do about it. Go down to Taiji and make a stink? Lose out on work, start a fight, and waste the time of the town's police? Get myself a police record in the process?

It's really frustrating trying to take the high road, but it's the way the Japanese would do it...

I have even been stopped in my own town (Osaka) which is a good hour from Wakayama (Taiji) and asked by police if I am taking part in anti-whaling protests. What a shame.