ABSTRACT
In 2009–2010 Jun Morikawa and Erich Hoyt embarked on a correspondence and then met to talk at length about the past, present and the future of whales, whaling and whale watching in Japan. Professor Morikawa, a specialist in Japan's foreign aid programmes and author of Whaling in Japan: Power, Politics and Diplomacy (2009), has attempted to unravel the background, logic and future of whaling. Erich Hoyt, author of 18 books mainly on whales, whale watching and marine protected areas (e.g. Hoyt, 2011), has travelled around Japan for nearly 20 years, largely as an invited guest for whale-watching communities speaking at conferences and workshops. The following represents extracts from their discussions.
