HONORED AND RECOGNIZED BY JAPAN
Japan Recognizes and thus Honors Captain Paul Watson at the Highest Level in the Japanese government.
It is extremely gratifying that the Japanese government regards me as an influential adversary and acknowledges the effectiveness of our campaigns against their illegal whaling operations since 2005 until they retreated from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 2019.
Our victory and our exposure of their criminal whaling enterprise was a humiliation that Japan considers to be insulting. Added to this insult is Japan’s failure to capture me by abusing and utilizing the Interpol Red Notice. They were unsuccessful in capturing me in Germany in 2012 and again in Greenland in 2024.
On January 10th Mr. Iwaya Takeshi, the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs met Mr. Jarl Kåre Frijs-Madsen, Ambassador-Designate of Denmark to express Japan’s disapproval with Denmark’s decision to release me and to refuse to extradite me to Japan.
I have to admit it is quite an honor to have our campaign successes being discussed at the highest levels in the Japanese government.
My detention in a Greenlandic prison served as an opportunity to continue to focus international attention on Japan’s illegal commercial whaling operations. Imprisonment was in itself a successful campaign in not only exposing Japanese criminal whaling activity but in defeating Japan’s extraordinary measures to extradite and apprehend me.
My actions have been discussed and criticized by every Japanese Prime Minister since Yoshihiko Noda in 2011 through Shinzo Abe in 2012-2020, through Yoshihide Suga in 2012 through Fumio Kishida in 2021-2024 to Shigeru Ishiba.
Through five Prime Ministers Japan has failed to capture me although it looks like they will continue to try.
And I will continue to oppose, expose and intervene against their unlawful activities as judged in 2014 by the International Court of Justice.
For 50 years I have been active in high seas marine conservation activities without causing a ingle injury to any person and without a single felony conviction for any of my actions.
Japan’s description of me as an extremely dangerous and armed eco-terrorist is simply their embarrassed over reaction to the humiliating defeats that they have suffered at the hands of our most powerful and effective weapon – the camera!
MEDIA RELEASE FROM THE JAPANESE FOREIGN MINISTRY
