Open Letter to the Mayor of Taiji
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MAYOR OF TAIJI
December 1, 2010
Mayor Kazutaka Sangen
Taiji-cho Town Hall
3767-1 Taiji-cho
Higashimuro-gun
Wakayama Prefecture
649-5171 Japan
I hope you and the people of Taiji are doing well.
As you know, I chose not to take part in your meeting in Taiji on November 2nd, because I felt the restrictions placed on participants and media were unfair and restricted the dialog that we both are seeking.
I would, as an alternative, propose that you and I meet in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club for an open meeting without restrictions on either the participants or the media.
I would like to come in the spirit of mutual understanding and free flow of discussion.
I and my organization have a long history of engaging in peaceful efforts to save dolphins around the world. We believe hunts of this nature are not good for dolphins or humans. We have long expressed our concerns for people who eat dolphin meat, including those in Taiji, the Faroe Islands, and the Solomon Islands.
We have great respect for the people of Taiji and the people of Japan, and we have never broken any laws. Nor do we support a boycott of Japan, unlike other organizations.
We believe open discussion and finding alternatives for the hunts is the best way to address these issues.
We still believe that it would be constructive at this time to have a dialogue. Thank you for your consideration of having a meeting with me in Tokyo at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club at a time we can mutually agree on.
With respect and humility,
Richard O’Barry
Campaign Director
Dolphin Project
