P. M. BRIEFING : 7 Accused in Whale Meat Case
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TOKYO — Japan’s coast guard arrested seven seamen on suspicion of smuggling 30 tons of frozen whale meat near the southern island of Okinawa, a spokesman for the Maritime Safety Agency said today.
The meat was worth $310,000 at retail prices, officials said, and the seven could face jail sentences of up to five years. Japan, which caught nearly 3,000 whales a year up until 1987, banned commercial whaling in 1988 under an agreement with the International Whaling Commission. Because many Japanese still have a taste for whale, smuggling banned whale meat into the country has become a lucrative business.
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