Japan lacks votes to end whaling ban - AP

[Eugene]

Source: Associated Press

Japan lacks votes to end whaling ban

By JOSEPH COLEMAN, Associated Press Writer
2 hours, 3 minutes ago

TOKYO - The fate of the 21-year-old moratorium on commercial
whaling is a numbers' game played at the annual International
Whaling Commission meeting — and this year Japan is still short
of votes in its drive to overturn the ban.

Tokyo, which has fought for years to undo the 1986 moratorium,
sent shivers through anti-whaling ranks last year when it rallied
a one-vote majority at the IWC for a symbolic resolution saying
the ban was no longer needed.

But anti-whaling forces say that with the recent addition of
several pro-moratorium members, Tokyo's influence in the
75-member group is slipping and remains far from having the
three-fourth's majority needed to scrap the ban at the IWC
meeting next week.

-snip-

Even Japanese officials concede they don't have the numbers
to make a serious assault on the moratorium, though they say
their arguments — that the IWC should be managing whaling
rather than banning it — are gaining support.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070522/ap_on_re_as/japan_whaling_2