THE FUR SEAL PROBLEM IN POST-SURRENDER JAPAN 
Very little thought was given to fur seals in the early daye of the Occupation, 
Other far more pressing problems engaged the attention of the Allied Forces. Their first 
mission was the demilitarization of Japan, which was directed by General Order No 1, dated 
2 September 1945. Paragraph XI of this document states: "The Japanese Imperial General 
Headquarters and appropriate Japanese Officials shall be prepared, on instructions from 
Allied Occupation Commanders, to collect and deliver all arns in the possession of the 
Japanese Civilian Population." The confiscation of all firearms, including shotguns and 
small bore rifles in the hands of civilian huntere and sportsmen, is standard practice in 
military occupations. The Japanese themselves had enforced a similar policy rigidly in 
their own occupations of conquered lands. 
The Japanese Government protested this clause through the Central Liaison Office 
in Letter No 73, dated 15 September 1945, which requested that "private hunting guns be 
retained in the hands of the civilian population*® for the following reasons: 
"a. Such hunting guns have so inferior projectile power that they have no mili- 
tary significance whatever. 
b. They are used mainly for the destruction of harmful birds and beaste and by 
persons who make their living by acquiring meat and birds and skins. 
ce. They are used only by persons who have been granted license under the regu- 
lations and who are allotted a prescribed number of shots purchasable only 
from officially designated merchants. 
d. The damage done to the crops in this country by harmful birds and beasts 
amounts in value to about ¥84,000,000 a year, while the increase in the 
yield realized by the destruction of harmful birds and beasts is valued 
at about ¥9,000,000 a year. 
"In view of the present food situation, the extermination of such birds and beasts 
is of the utmost importance." 
The favorable consideration of this request by the Occupation authorities is 
readily understandable. Operations were still in the military stage, and wise use of wild- 
life resources has never been a primary military objective. Furthermore no accurate infor- 
mation wae available on wildlife conditions in Japan. Watural Resources Section was not 
activated until General Order No 6 was published 2 October 1945, and its Wildlife Branch 
did not begin operations until a year later on 4 September 1946. In the absence of data 
on which to evaluate the validity of the Japanese contentions, the Occupation authorities 
had to judge the Japanese request on ite military significance alone. They were acutely 
conscious of the need of supplying food to prevent discontent and unrest in a food-short 
Japan. This proposal promised hope of alleviating food shortages to some extent, and the 
weapons involved constituted no serious threat to military safety. Hence, unaware of its 
possible consequences to wildlife resources, they granted the request by the publication 
of SCAPIN 50 on 24 September 1945, wnich provided that “license of retention of hunting 
guns ehall be granted by the proper authorities only to persons who actually. require such 
guns in order to acquire meat, hides, or skins, or to destroy barmful birds and beaste". 
Following the success of this first request, the Ministry of Agriculture and 
Forestry next formally petitioned the Naval Shipping Control Authority on 10 October 1945 
to permit firearms to be carried by “sea animal hunting vessels". As this request also 
seemed quite reasonable, it was granted immediately by SCAJAP, serial 38, of 12 October 
1945, which allowed each such vessel to carry four 10- or 12-gauge shotguns, plus 50 rounds 
of ammunition. Ostensibly these guns were supposed to be used for hunting porpoises, which 
usually are killed or crippled with buckrhot before being harpooned for retrieving. But 
the possibility that the porpoise hunters might aleo have pelagic sealing in mind did not 
escape the Naval Shipping Control Authority entirely, for it quickly amended the first 
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