Boston.com: Japan's whaling negotiator draws raves
Japan won few battles at this year's International Whaling Commission meeting. Most of its proposals aimed at eroding a moratorium on commercial whale hunts were voted down. Yet even opponents concede the country's chief negotiator at the forum, which ended Friday, is a skilled and eloquent advocate. Joji Morishita has become the face of Japan's determination to pursue a practice much of the world condemns: killing whales to eat their meat...The bespectacled Morishita, 47, is comfortable making speeches before large halls of delegates, maintains his composure in the face of vehement criticism and has no need for an interpreter, easily switching between his native language and fluent English. He is Japan's "most effective spokesperson so far," said New Zealand Conservation Minister Chris Carter, a harsh critic of Japanese whaling...Tall and boyishly handsome with a stylishly combed head of graying hair, Morishita has developed a following among the uniformed South Korean female guides and interpreters working at the gathering...more...
