HOOSIERS TRIBUNE　on 1/19

フージャーズの皆様へ

*****今週の出欠確認*******************

今週例会の出欠確認です。
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こんばんは、デモらです。

1月も半ば、1年で一番寒い時期となりました。
特に今週は寒い日が続いていて、寒さに弱い私はマフラーと帽子で
防寒していますが、どれだけ防寒しても1年中懐は寒いです（笑）

さて、今週のトピックはYouTube（動画投稿サイト）に投稿された、
とある動画の話です。その動画では、カンガルー等の野生動物を
駆除しているオーストラリアが日本の捕鯨に反対するのはおかしいと、
批判しています。

日本人としての視点でなく、あえてオーストラリア人の視点で考えて
みると、議論が盛り上がりそうですね。

※※皆さんにお願い※※

最近、同姓のメンバーが増えています。出欠欄の記入は必ずフルネームで
お願いします。特に渡辺さん、鈴木さん、山下さん、高橋さんはフルネームで！

☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆

'Racist' Australia video causes storm

A video that labels Australia's opposition to Japan's whaling program as "racist" and hypocritical is causing controversy abroad.

The video has been viewed more than 800,000 times since it was put on video-sharing Web site YouTube.com about three weeks ago.

The online site of public broadcaster Australian Broadcasting Corp. carried a comment from Foreign Minister Stephen Smith stating
that the video lacks dignity, but has in no way influenced relations between the two countries.

The 10-minute video was posted to YouTube from a computer in Japan last month. It includes both English and Japanese subtitles.

The video states that Australia is being hypocritical when it calls Japanese whaling cruel, even though Australians kill wildlife
such as dingoes and kangaroos.

The dingo, a wild dog native to Australia, is listed on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
and is classified as a species that may become extinct in the near future.

The video has received more than 861,000 viewings and a total of more than 27,000 comments, both negative and positive, in English
and Japanese.

The Australian government used YouTube to campaign against Japanese whaling last year.

Humpback whales, a favorite of whale watchers, were included on Japan's research whaling list for the first time last year.

But as the whaling fleet left Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture last November, strong opposition was voiced not only by
Australia but also by New Zealand, the United States and Europe.

A month later, the Japanese government postponed the humpback whaling for one to two years at the request of the International
Whaling Commission (IWC).

The IWC banned whaling for commercial purposes in 1986. The next year, Japan began minke whaling for scientific research purposes in
the Antarctic Ocean.

The government later started whaling in the northwestern part of the Pacific Ocean.

The kinds of whales on the list subject to research whaling were also gradually expanded.

Last year, the government planned to capture 850 minke whales, 50 fin whales and 50 humpback whales up until spring this year.

The government says its sale of the whale meat helps to cover research costs.

This has led to criticism that Japan has been engaged in commercial whaling under the guise of research.


Q1. Have you ever watched videos on YouTube? If your answer is yes, what kind of videos have you watched?

ユーチューブで動画（ビデオ）を見たことがありますか？もしあるなら、どんな動画を見ましたか？

Q2. "Australia is being hypocritical when it calls Japanese whaling cruel, even though Australians kill wildlife such as dingoes and
kangaroos."
Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?

「（近い将来に絶滅のおそれがあるとされている野犬の）ディンゴやカンガルーといった野生生物を殺しているのに、日本の捕鯨が残酷だと訴えるオーストラリアは偽善者である」
この意見に賛成しますか？なぜですか？

Q3. Do you think whaling is a important piece of Japanese culture?

捕鯨は大切な日本文化だと思いますか？

Q4. Japan has stopped commercial whaling since 1988. Do you think Japan should resume it?

日本は1988年から商業捕鯨を中止しています。再開すべきだと思いますか？