Disaster Recovery Funds Used to Cover the Research Whaling Debts Must Be Returned

Joint Statement
Disaster Recovery Funds Used to Cover the Research Whaling Debts Must Be Returned 

Tokyo, November 13, 2013 – On October 5^th 2012, Greenpeace Japan and the Dolphin & Whale Action Network (IKAN) called on the Board of Audit of Japan to conduct an urgent and independent investigation into the details of the misuse of 2.28 billion yen in tsunami recovery funds under the project called “Cetacean Research Stabilization Promotion,” as well as to call for returning the funds that did not meet the initial objectives of supporting Ishinomaki City in Miyagi Prefecture (1). We also urged the board to review the injection of government subsidies into whaling operations pointing out that the Institute of Cetacean Research has excessive debts (2).

On October 31^st, the Board of Audit of Japan released a report on the findings from their earlier investigation, stating that the Cetacean Research Stabilization Promotion Project “cannot be accepted as a direct benefit to the recovery efforts and is a questionable expense spent from the disaster funds (3).”