Japanese Town Defends Dolphin Slaughter Portrayed in Oscar-Winning Documentary

Last weekend, the who's who of Western entertainment gathered in Los Angeles to cheer on the winners of coveted Oscar awards. The winner of the best documentary Oscar, "The Cove," got a much different reaction from the residents of the town that served as the film's location. That's because the documentary portrays the annual capture and slaughter of some 2,000 dolphins by Taiji fisherman in a secluded cove. The residents of this town are responsible for about 11% of Japan's annual dolphin take, but it is the only place that the ancient "oikomi" hunting method is used. This practice drives dolphins toward shallow waters where they can be corralled, killed, and dragged ashore, but it also puts the operation in plain view of nearby onlookers.

While the Japanese say they detest the Western bias present in the documentary, some say that they can understand why the visuals are so disturbing to Americans. "Everyone [in Taiji] knows about it," said Hisato Ryono, a local official who says that he was tricked into appearing in the award-winning documentary. "The water nearby turns red during the hunt. The actual killing is done in a concealed area because it is unpleasant to look at, as is true of killing cows or pigs or any other animal."

Ryono's statements were backed by Yutaka Aoki, the fisheries division director of Japan's Foreign Ministry. "There are some countries that eat cows, and there are other countries that eat whales or dolphins. A film about slaughtering cows or pigs might also be unwelcome to workers in that industry."

Other Japanese featured in the documentary claim that they were lied to or tricked prior to giving statements to film crews, including Tetsuya Endo, a Japanese professor who says his statements were twisted to make it appear that mercury content in dolphin meat was overtly dangerous to humans. Endo told the Associated Press that he is working with a legal team to seek recourse and says that those responsible for "The Cove" should have declined the award. Endo has gone on the record with The Japan Times to warn about the high mercury content in whale and dolphin meat, and says that Japan is likely downgrading the severity of the problem because the consumption of whale and dolphin meat is infrequent at best, and mostly confined to Japan's "baby boomer" population. Endo maintains the position that Japan should do more to inform the public of the high mercury content of this meat, but says that mercury poisoning is easily cured and prevented. Endo says that "The Cove" works to create hysteria and panic where it is not needed.

A Japanese film distributor, Medallion Media, recently purchased the rights to bring "The Cove" to Japanese theaters and DVD aisles. The film will censor the faces of Taiji citizens to protect their privacy, but will otherwise be shown to the Japanese people in its original format.