69-year-old, Japanese sailor, Ken-ichi Horie, will shortly set out on yet another pioneering voyage, a journey of 4,350 miles from Hawaii to Japan in a wave-powered boat. It will be a world record for the longest distance traveled by a wave-powered boat, which is being described as the greenest nautical propulsion system since the sail.
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is again sailing to the Antarctic Whale Sanctuary to save Humpback, Fin and Minke whales from Japanese whalers.
It appears that some of the recent media coverage has been misleading. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society reports that it does not use violence and never has used violence and is not threatening violence. Apparently, in a ramming incident last year, it was a Japanese whaling ship that rammed the Sea Shepherd ship.
The Japanese will only be stopped by economic and social pressure. Copy this post and send it to a few friends, telling them what you think of the Japanese whalers. Let's use the power of bloggers to let the Japanese know what the world thinks about a country that allows its countrymen to engage in whaling.
A Japanese whaling fleet has set off on an expedition targeting humpback, fin and minke whales, in the Antarctic. The fleet aims to catch over 1,000 whales before returning to port early next year.
In defiance of world agreements and opinion, the whalers are expected to kill about 50 fin whales, which environmentalists say are a critically endangered species and also about 50 humpback whales, well known for their picturesque silhouette and acrobatic breaching.
Greenpeace said its Esperanza campaign ship was in waters off Japan, waiting to intersect the fleet in the coming days to demand that the expedition returns home. The endangered animals are currently migrating south along the Australian coast and The Australian government and people, are being pro-active in attempting to bring both political and social pressure on Japan. More.
Organizers aim to re-create the pilgrimages that were popular prior to the Meiji Restoration, including trips to the Ise and Kumano areas of the region. It also aims to revive Japan's religious tradition of paying homage to both Shinto deities and Buddhist saints, a practice known as Shinbutsu Shugo, the syncretization of the two religions.
On completion the new route, dubbed Saigoku Shinbutsu Reijo (Shinto and Buddhist spiritual fields of Western Japan), is expected to connect about 100 temples and shrines of various sects. About 20 temples and shrines have already agreed to participate in the scheme. They include Hieizan Enryakuji temple in Otsu; Kongobuji temple in Koyacho, Wakayama Prefecture; Kinkakuji temple and Shimogamo Shrine in Kyoto; Iwashimizu Hachimangu shrine in Yawata, Kyoto Prefecture; Horyuji temple in Ikarugacho, Nara Prefecture; and Sumiyoshi Taisha shrine in Osaka.
