provide the Chairman of the IWC time to consult with 

 Commissioners on how to proceed on Committee findings. 



Post-Meeting Activities 



Japan — Following the 1988 IWC Annual Meeting, the 

 Government of Japan submitted to the IWC a slightly revised 

 research proposal that involved killing up to 330 Southern 

 Hemisphere minke whales during the 1988-1989 whaling season. 

 The proposal was distributed to members of the IWC Scientific 

 Committee on 2 6 September 1988 with a request for comments 

 from Committee members by 11 November. An intersessional 

 meeting to review the proposal was not scheduled, however, 

 because the new proposal was judged to be substantially similar 

 to Japan's previous research proposal for the 1987-1988 whaling 

 season. 



On 20-21 September 1988, the Under Secretary for Oceans 

 and Atmosphere of the Department of Commerce (who is also the 

 U.S. Commissioner to the IWC) met with Japan's Minister of 

 Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries and the Director General 

 of Japan's Fisheries Agency in Tokyo to discuss the Secretary's 

 ideas for resolving the whaling problem. The ideas involved 

 compromises on both sides, including a decision by the 

 Government of Japan not to permit further research whaling in 

 the Southern Hemisphere. The Japanese participants responded 

 on a preliminary basis that the ideas presented could not 

 even serve as a basis for further discussion. Additional 

 talks on the matter were not scheduled. Japanese officials 

 subsequently advised the Under Secretary that Japan's research 

 whaling fleet would depart for the Southern Hemisphere early 

 in December. 



As noted above, the President had asked the Secretary of 

 Commerce, in consultation with the Secretary of State, to 

 monitor Japanese whaling practices and to report back to him 

 by 1 December 1988. On 1 December, the Secretary of Commerce 

 advised the President of the above developments. In his 

 report, the Secretary concluded that there had been no signi- 

 ficant change in the circumstances which had led to him to 

 certify Japan and he advised the President that he was therefore 

 preparing recommendations for further sanctions to encourage 

 Japan to embrace the IWC conservation program. 



On 14 December 1988, the U.S. Commissioner to the IWC 

 requested comments on Japan's new proposal from the Marine 

 Mammal Commission. By letter of 20 December 1988, the 

 Commission, in consultation with its Committee of Scientific 

 Advisors, responded by noting that the new proposal was 

 substantially unchanged from Japan's research proposal for 

 the previous year. The Marine Mammal Commission stated that 

 it therefore had nothing further to add to its letter of 12 



109 



