EDITORIAL | France Protects Anti-whaling 'Activist' Engaged in Terrorist Activities

Japan must rely on strict application of the law to ensure safety at sea. The authorities in Greenland have arrested controversial environmentalist Paul Watson for interfering with Japan's scientific research whaling. Watson is the founder of the anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd.

Denmark administers Greenland. Therefore, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) reportedly requested the Danish authorities to extradite Watson to face charges in Japan. The request follows an international arrest warrant for several suspicious incidents, including suspicion of forcible interference with business.

Watson is alleged to have engaged in acts of disruption that were dangerous and egregious and which resulted in injuries. Therefore, the JCG's request is perfectly appropriate. The Danish authorities should extradite Watson to Japan as soon as possible.

*A Sea Shepherd obstruction vessel rams the bow of a supply ship for the Japanese whale research mother ship Nisshin Maru in the Antarctic on February 20, 2013 (©Institute of Cetacean Research)*

Interference with Japanese Vessels

Since around 2005, the Sea Shepherd has repeatedly engaged in disruptive activities. Those include ramming small boats into vessels belonging to Japanese research whaling fleet ships. As a result, the JCG headquarters in Tokyo filed charges of assault and obstruction in 2010.

Watson and Sea Shepherd were accused of interference with business by intimidation, including throwing bottles containing butyric acid at vessels belonging to Japanese whaling fleets. Some of these actions injure crew members. As a result, INTERPOL issued a warrant for Watson's arrest.

*French President Emmanuel Macron in Champagne, France, on June 13, 2023. (©REUTERS/Eric Gaillard/Pool)*

Aggressive European Interference

Watson was taken into custody on July 21 when the ship he was on stopped to refuel in a Greenland port. He was reportedly on the way to engage in further obstruction of Japanese whaling operations. The Danish Ministry of Justice expects to quickly make an official determination on whether to hand Watson over to Japan in line with the JCG's extradition request.

One concern, however, is the vocal opposition to extradition expected in parts of Europe, where anti-whaling sentiment runs strong. French President Emmanuel Macron has already asked Denmark not to turn Watson over to Japanese authorities.

However, that was a very unfriendly and strange statement for the French president to make. Japan's research whaling activities are authorized under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.

Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd's protest ship Bob Barker (left) intentionally obstructs the Nisshin Maru's supply ship, Sun Laurel. The Sea Shepherd ship pushes its bow against the Japanese vessel and blocks it from refueling. February 20, 2013, in the Antarctic Ocean. (©Cetacean Research Institute)

Firm Response to Acts of Piracy

Moreover, Sea Shepherd has engaged in behavior characteristic of terrorism. Their boats have even rammed and sunk Icelandic and Norwegian whaling ships. Furthermore, in 2013 a US Federal appeals court ruled that Sea Shepherd had engaged in "piracy."

On August 2, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi addressed the issue in a comment to the press. "We will respond appropriately by making necessary contacts with relevant institutions in the countries concerned," he said.

But isn't that response too wishy-washy? Instead, the government should be protesting France's unfriendly attitude, Furthermore, the legitimacy of pursuing legal action must be clearly enunciated.

Watson was also arrested by the German authorities responsible for security in 2012 in connection with a different case. However, he fled Germany soon after he was let out on bail. In order to prevent more terroristic actions, we must ensure that such slipups do not occur this time.

(Read the editorial in Japanese.)

Author: Editorial Board, The Sankei Shimbun