[For the government of Japan to act deliberately in defiance of international agreement, and to devote considerable diplomatic effort to securing the revision of that agreement by pressure, including the use of substantial financial inducements, on small countries, means that there has to be a substantial issue at stake.

It can hardly be science, since virtually no one accepts the claim that scientific purpose warrants the annual killing of over 900 whales. It can hardly be economic, since although the meat of the captured animals is widely sold, the revenue to the Japanese government is trivial and most likely outweighed by the costs. It can hardly be culture and tradition, since Japanese traditional culture, strongly Buddhist influenced, deplored the killing and consumption of animals and the practise was confined to a few, relatively remote villages. So, if scientific, economic and cultural rationale isruled out, what can the reason be?