This article reviews the history of antiwhaling groups in Japan from a politicocultural perspective, examining how the connection between whaling and national identity has significantly constrained their development. It is interesting to note that this connection, or “framing,” in terms of social movement theory, was not an invention of the prowhaling camp. It was rather induced and facilitated by Western activists’ protests, which have been unwelcome in Japanese political culture, making the antiwhaling cause come across as “foreign.” In fact, Japanese antiwhaling groups have attempted to counter-frame this by distinguishing themselves from Western activists, emphasizing moderate strategies, limiting their opposition to large-scale modern whaling, and allowing small-scale coastal whaling with a view to detaching the issue from national claims. However, they have not been successful due to prominent foreign protests. This study also suggests the key role of national identity in the success or failure of environmental activism.

中文翻译：

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日本的反捕鲸团体：他们历史上缺乏发展以及与民族认同的关系

本文从政治文化的角度回顾了日本反捕鲸团体的历史，考察了捕鲸与民族认同之间的联系如何显着制约了它们的发展。有趣的是，这种联系，或社会运动理论中的“框架”，并不是捕鲸营的发明。它是由西方活动家的抗议引起和促进的，这些抗议在日本的政治文化中是不受欢迎的，使得反捕鲸事业被视为“外国”。事实上，日本反捕鲸组织试图通过将自己与西方活动家区分开来、强调温和的战略、限制他们反对大规模现代捕鲸、允许小规模沿海捕鲸，以期将问题与国家问题分开，以此来反制这一点。索赔。然而，由于外国的强烈抗议，他们并没有取得成功。这项研究还表明了国家认同在环境行动主义成败中的关键作用。