14 DAY TRIAL // Shortly after United States ambassador Caroline Kennedy took to Twitter to let people know that neither she, nor the country's government approved of the dolphin hunt currently underway in Japan, Yoko Ono decided to tackle the same issue by writing an open letter to Japanese fishermen in Taiji.
In her letter, Yoko Ono argues that, although Japanese fishermen kill dolphins not because they take pleasure in such slaughters, but because this is a tradition of theirs, the fact remains that this practice gives people an excuse to bad-mouth the country.
The artist stresses that, over these past few years, Japan has been through a rather rough patch. Hence, it needs other countries to support it and not blame it for its actions.
“It [the hunt] will give an excuse for big countries and their children in China, India and Russia to speak ill of Japan when we should be communicating our strong love for peace, not violence,” Yoko One writes in her open letter.
“The way you are insisting on a big celebration of killing so many Dolphins and kidnapping some of them to sell to the zoos and restaurants at this very politically sensitive time, will make the children of the world hate the Japanese,” she adds.
The artist ends her message to the Japanese fishermen in the town of Taiji by saying that, unless they want the rest of the world to despise them, they would do best to cancel their annual dolphin hunt.
“Please use political tact and cancel the festival which will be considered by the rest of the world as a sign of Japanese arrogance, ignorance, and love for an act of violence,” Yoko Ono urges.