OPINION/COMMENTARY

Japan vs. the NGOs

If environmental non-governmental organizations NGOs) were to keep a list of their "most favored nations," one would expect Japan to rank near the top. As any visitor to Japan can attest (I've been there twice), the country's population of 120 million recycles enthusiastically. The Japanese government supports the greens' beloved Kyoto Protocol-itself drafted in Japan. And many Japanese companies loom large in the race to develop so-called "green" technologies. Despite all this, once a year, the Japanese get a kick in the teeth from environmentalists. But this year, the Japanese are kicking back.

What is causing the bad blood between Tokyo and the NGOs? Despite all of Japan's pro-green policies, there is one Japanese policy the NGOs cannot abide: Japan's appetite for whale meat, a tradition with roots in Japan's age-old role as a seafaring nation....