That is debatable in my opinion --the Japanese claim they are using the whales for research, which is the exemption to international law they are citing in their whaling harvest. But there is no descernable data that comes from the tens of thousands of pounds of whales they kill each year. I believe they are allowed to use any surplus (aften the bogus research) commericially.
If they are not actually researching whales, you could make the case that they are in violation of international treaties and law. Clearly this is a loophole, and one that needs to be closed.
As I understand it, the market for whale meat, oil, blubber, etc. in Japan is small and shrinking. The Japanese whale hunts have one purpose, in reality, shoring up a politically powerful sector of the Japanese economy. Much as the Japanese government has fought to shore up its rice famers by keeping out foreign-grown rice.
The Sea Shepard's activities have brought strong and negative attention to these whale hunts and that is beginning to truly embarrass Tokyo. I have read reports of a growing discomfort among Japanese voters with the hunts.
Ultimately this sort of activity can get results; it is a hyper sort of civil disobedience. It takes time, it's messy and far from certain, but many of the international conservation laws we have today were spawned by radical actions.
Jeff
