Paul Watson held a press conference in Paris on December 21, 2024, with the head of a local supporters group (©Sankei by Mina Mitsui)
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Headquartered in France, the International Criminal Police Organization, or Interpol, recently lifted its international arrest warrant for Paul Watson. He is the founder of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd.
Sea Shepherd is a lawless group that has repeatedly engaged in dangerous acts of obstruction, such as ramming small boats into whaling ships from Japan and other countries. Watson is the man directing these operations. Therefore, the Japan Coast Guard had issued an arrest warrant for Watson on suspicion of assault and other offenses. That in turn led to Watson being placed on Interpol's Red Notice international wanted list.
Interpol's scrapping of the warrant leaves a dangerous activist free to do as he pleases and is also extremely unacceptable. The Red Notice extradition request should be reissued immediately. Tokyo must also strongly protest to Interpol and demand that it act. Meanwhile, all possible measures must be taken to detain the suspect.
Interpol's Strange Argument
Regarding its lifting of the arrest warrant, Interpol offered the following explanation: "This decision was not based on a judgment on the facts in the case, but on the new fact that Denmark had refused to extradite him to Japan."
Such an explanation is bizarre. What matters here are the "facts in the case."
Watson was allegedly intimately involved in the 2010 incident where Sea Shepherd members attacked a Japanese research whaling vessel operating in the Antarctic Ocean. That incident resulted in multiple injuries. It is only right that Watson should be brought to justice.
Watson was arrested by local police in July of 2024. At the time, the "eco-pirate" had stopped in the Danish-administered territory of Greenland en route to disrupt a Japanese whaling fleet in the North Pacific. Japan thereafter requested his immediate extradition.
However, French President Emmanuel Macron and leaders in other countries opposed to commercial whaling opposed the request. Thereafter, Denmark released Watson in December.
Concern in Japan
Watson has been exiled in France. After his international arrest warrant was lifted, he posted on social media, "Finally, I'm free." There is grave concern that he will soon resume his illegal activities.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi told a press conference that Interpol's action was "extremely regrettable." There are also other indications that the Japanese authorities intend to continue their investigation. Japan Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Yoshio Seguchi told the press, "There is no change to our policy of requesting the relevant countries to extradite him."
As with Interpol, the Danish and French governments' attitudes have definitely been problematic. Their choice to give a free pass to a lawless suspect rather than crack down on dangerous international crimes and maintain friendly relations with Japan calls into question their credentials as advanced democratic nations. We urge them to return to upholding law and justice.
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Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun
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