Japan has suffered enormously from the recent tsunami and the resultant problem with the nuclear power plant at Fukushima. One industry which has probably suffered the most is the fishing industry as coastal communities lost large numbers of people as well as almost all fishing boats. Fears about radiation in sea water is preventing people from eating fish. The industry will take months, if not years, to recover. This gives the government an opportunity to set guidelines for the industry. Overfishing is depleting the oceans of fish stock. Japan caught 65000 tons of shark about 40 years ago, by 2009 it was down to 35000 tons. Blue fin tuna has become an endangered species and may soon disappear. However it is probably whaling that gives Japan a bad reputation. Whales are mammals and their enormous size makes them difficult to kill quickly. They must suffer terrible pain as they are harpooned and try frantically to escape. Yet Japan refuses to stop this barbaric practice insisting that it has the right to catch small numbers of sperm and minky whales for experiments. All the whales end up on restaurant menus. What kind of experiment starts by killing the subject? Surely one whale killed for dissection is enough, there is no need to kill so many year after year to study the anatomy and physiology of whales. Clearly it is a lie to cover the continuation of this cruelty and gives Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd an opportunity to campaign against the country. We admire the courage, discipline, and industry of the Japanese and pray that they recover quickly from the tragedy. We hope they will protect other species in the future.