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Teacher’s notes

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This clip shows images of Tokyo as the narrator (Jack Thompson) informs us that Japan’s large population relies heavily on seafood. Inside the Tokyo Fish Market, whale meat is sold for up to US$350 per kg. The president of the World Wildlife Fund, USA, argues that the cost of the meat indicates that it is not a survival food. Footage inside a Japanese restaurant shows whale meat being prepared and served to diners. A Japanese businessman insists that eating whale is a 'need of life’. A Japanese academic criticises the way Japanese mass media misrepresents the complex issues of the whale debate; a young Japanese commuter wants the anti-whaling countries to meet Japan halfway on the issue of whale conservation.

Educational value points

• As the film title suggests, The Last Whale was made specifically in response to concerns about the Japanese and Norwegian governments attempting to overturn the 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling at the 1994 International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting and is a passionate plea to save whales from extinction. Director David Bradbury was approached by producer Wayne Young and decided to make the film because he saw the whale issue as part of the broader environmental crisis facing the planet. He wanted the film to inspire viewers to get involved and force positive change. The film is credited as being influential in the IWC’s decision in 1994 to create the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary.

• The clip presents a range of opinions on Japan’s pro-whaling stance. One of the main arguments is that the Japanese rely on whale meat as a staple survival food. The high price paid for whale meat and its consumption in expensive restaurants could be seen as undermining this claim.

• The Tokyo Fish Market, where whale meat is sold as a delicacy, is depicted in the clip. Despite the IWC’s 1986 moratorium, Japan has legally conducted whaling under the banner of 'scientific research’ since 1987. As required on completion of their research, they use the whole animal by selling the whale meat rather than wasting it. Japan’s scientific activities are highly controversial and viewed by the anti-whaling members of the IWC, including Australia and New Zealand, as a thinly disguised form of commercial whaling.

• The subject of over-exploitation of a natural resource is raised with two opposing points of view presented in the clip. One suggestion is that if commercial whaling is stopped permanently, other seafood (such as tuna and shark) will then also be targeted for protection, further reducing Japan’s food sources and livelihood. The counter argument given is that unless sustainable fishing practices are in place, the resource, be it whale, tuna or shark, will disappear altogether.

• A Japanese academic introduces the issue of media bias in the coverage of the whale debate, criticising the way Japanese mass media presents 'a false image’ of the debate to the Japanese people. He is concerned that the Japanese media dismisses as 'Japan-bashing’ the complex issue of whale conservation. He sees the issue as part of the bigger picture of environmental conservation around the world.

• The clip raises questions of cultural bias. An argument of the pro-whaling countries is that the anti-whaling countries increasingly see the whale as a 'special’ marine animal because of its high intelligence. These countries’ opposition to harvesting whales for food (in populations that are not endangered, such as the minke) is seen as sentimental and hypocritical, when these same countries are happy to consume other animals, such as pigs, that are deemed highly intelligent.

• The Last Whale is an example of a documentary by Australian filmmaker David Bradbury, one of Australia’s most prolific and important documentary makers. Initially working in television journalism, Bradbury began making challenging political documentaries in the 1970s, and with Frontline and Chile: Hasta Cuando? (both nominated for Academy Awards), Public Enemy Number One (1981), Nicaragua: No Pasaran, State of Shock and Nazi Supergrass, he earned a reputation for his courageous and independent perspective. His later films reflect his interest in environmental issues and include Shoalwater, Up for Grabs, Jabiluka and Blowin’ in the Wind (2005). In 2005 David Bradbury was awarded the Chauvel Award at the Brisbane International Film Festival for his contribution to Australian filmmaking.

This clip starts approximately 12 minutes into the documentary.

A montage of shots of Tokyo restaurants and the local fish market as Jack Thompson narrates the sequence.

Narrator With a population of more than 120 million people, Japan relies heavily on the world’s oceans as a major food supply. In the Tokyo Fish Market, whale meat sells for up to US$350 a kilo.

Kathryn Fuller, World Wildlife Fund president- USA, speaks to camera.
Kathryn Fuller When you look at commercial whaling, you see that it is driven by commercial interests who are providing meat not for local communities but for sushi bars and fancy restaurants in cities like Tokyo.
Man (subtitled) This is not sentimental. This is not cultural. This is a need of life. It’s a, uh – we, we eat them, we feed on them, and if we quit it, then next the story must be tuna and shark.

A man yells in Japaense at a fish market.
Man 2 I think what Japan is afraid of is if they lose the whaling issue and have to stop whaling, they’ll have to stop a lot of forms of fishing. But the answer is, of course they have to stop a lot of forms of fishing because they’re so incredibly destructive that if they don’t, they’ll lose the resource itself. They don’t seem to care about that. But that’s incredibly important.

Dr Hideo Obara (Nagawa Nutrition University, through interpreter) Japanese mass media have not been fair in their reporting of the whale debate and other issues concerning the environment. They merely broadcasted that European countries and the United States are attacking Japan for emotional reasons. The media have created a false image to the Japanese people, that the whaling issue is just another method of Japanese bashing. I think this is causing a lot of problems for Japan.

Man 3 (interviewed on a train through an interpreter) At the moment, everybody is attacking Japan and it is becoming rather extreme. I’d like to ask people who are against whaling to understand Japan’s circumstances. And we need to meet somewhere in the middle.
Man 4 (interviewed in a train subway through an interpreter) I have the experience to eat the whale’s meat. I like it.