Jap dolphins, si; windmills blocking my view? Gedouttahere!
Our new ambassador to Japan, Caroline Kennedy: qualifications, money and name) slams them for killing dolphins. For some reason, Japanese are offended at a foreigner, even a Kennedy, telling them how to conduct their affairs.
In office just two months, U.S. Ambassador Caroline Kennedy took to social media this weekend to condemn an annual dolphin hunt in western Japan portrayed by opponents as needlessly cruel.
“Deeply concerned by inhumaneness of drive hunt dolphin killing. USG opposes drive hunt fisheries,” Kennedy tweeted in both English and Japanese. “USG” refers to the U.S. government.
The message seemed to catch both officials and public here by surprise. Government spokesman Yoshihide Suga defended the dolphin hunt at a regular press conference Monday as “in accordance with the law.”
But Japanese social media were less circumspect.
“The drive hunt is a traditional fishery that was established long before the foundation of the United States of America,” said one message posted in response. “Isn’t it inhumane to kill millions of cows and sheep for consumption?” asked another.
Kennedy’s dolphin tweet could complicate relations between two vital allies, says Robert Dujarric, director of the Institute of Contemporary Asian Studies at Temple University of Japan, in Tokyo.
“There are far more important questions between the U.S. and Japan. The key to the dolphin business is getting Japanese to oppose it. But will this help? Or on the contrary, will it start a nationalistic reaction against meddling by a (foreign) country,” says Dujarric.
