Ep. 27: TITLE: Cultural clash emerges as staff and activists debate Japanese whaling traditions and sustainability.

27

Protests against Japanese whaling are in the news. This gives deputy director Tomii cravings for whale meat so the staff of the Culture Department goes to a whale restaurant in Shibuya. There they coincidentally meet Kyogoku and Kaibara. During their meal, the restaurant is invaded by protestors; among them is Jeff Larson. Kaibara goes on a rant about how the Japanese are unwilling to protect their traditions and storms out. Kurita and Yamaoka take Jeff with them to Osaka to visit the estate of Kyogoku. There they are served sashimi. Jeff praises the taste but gets upset when he realizes it's whale and calls whaling a barbaric practice. Kyogaku claims whale meat is part of Japanese culture and Yamaoka asserts that killing whales is no different from killing other animals. Jeff claims that whales are going extinct, but Yamaoka responds that endangered species are not hunted and that numbers from the IWC show that many whale populations are growing. Jeff says that Mr. Watt, the vice president of an anti-whaling organization, is coming to Tokyo and he will ask him. One day, when Yamaoka arrives at work, Jeff is already there and is very agitated. (Source: Wikipedia)