Urge Japanese Govt. to Place Warning Labels on Poisoned Dolphin Meat

Every year along the Japanese coast, fishermen massacre about 20,000 dolphins, porpoises, and small whales for their meat. Laboratory tests show that much of this meat is contaminated with dangerously-high levels of mercury, a poison that can cause permanent neurological damage and even death. You can help reduce demand for dolphin meat in Japan. Take Action to urge the Japanese Minister of Health to require that manufacturers post a warning label on each dolphin meat package.

There is worldwide concern that mercury accumulated in the human body may pose a serious health risk, especially to pregnant women and children. As you know, dolphin meat from drive hunts in Taiji, Wakayama prefecture, proved to be highly contaminated with toxic chemicals such as mercury, methyl mercury and PCBs. Repeated chemical analyses have shown that the level of mercury in dolphin meat is much higher than the maximum allowable level set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare of Japan.

We understand that the role of the Department of Food Safety Bureau is to promote food safety, thereby ensuring the health of the Japanese people. We urgently request the following:

1. Prohibit the sale of dolphin meat that contains mercury exceeding the maximum allowable level set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW). The sale of food items with toxic agricultural chemicals exceeding the maximum allowable level set by MHLW is already prohibited as a result of the "Positive-list System," which was adopted in 2006. Since mercury is as harmful to the human body as toxic agricultural chemicals, the "Positive-list System" should also apply to mercury. 

2. Until the above request is put into effect, consumers (including tourists) must be warned of the dangers associated with consuming mercury contaminated dolphin meat, in much the same way they are warned of the health risks associated with smoking cigarettes. Every store that sells dolphin meat must be obligated to post a prominent warning label on each meat package, stating as follows: "This food item possibly contains mercury exceeding the maximum allowable level set by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. Mercury accumulated in the human body may harm your health."