Josh Morris🇦🇶

HONORED AND RECOGNIZED BY JAPAN Japan Recognizes and thus Honors Captain Paul Watson at the Highest Level in the Japanese government. It is extremely gratifying that the Japanese government regards me as an influential adversary and acknowledges the effectiveness of our campaigns against their illegal whaling operations since 2005 until they retreated from the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary in 2019. Our victory and our exposure of their criminal whaling enterprise was a humiliation that Japan considers to be insulting. Added to this insult is Japan’s failure to capture me by abusing and utilizing the Interpol Red Notice. They were unsuccessful in capturing me in Germany in 2012 and again in Greenland in 2024. On January 10th Mr. Iwaya Takeshi, the Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs met Mr. Jarl Kåre Frijs-Madsen, Ambassador-Designate of Denmark to express Japan’s disapproval with Denmark’s decision to release me and to refuse to extradite me to Japan. I have to admit it is quite an honor to have our campaign successes being discussed at the highest levels in the Japanese government. My detention in a Greenlandic prison served as an opportunity to continue to focus international attention on Japan’s illegal commercial whaling operations. Imprisonment was in itself a successful campaign in not only exposing Japanese criminal whaling activity but in defeating Japan’s extraordinary measures to extradite and apprehend me. My actions have been discussed and criticized by every Japanese Prime Minister since Yoshihiko Noda in 2011 through Shinzo Abe in 2012-2020, through Yoshihide Suga in 2012 through Fumio Kishida in 2021-2024 to Shigeru Ishiba. Through five Prime Ministers Japan has failed to capture me although it looks like they will continue to try. And I will continue to oppose, expose and intervene against their unlawful activities as judged in 2014 by the International Court of Justice.

Thank you to @Surfer for their detailed feature. “I’ve never been angry at anything in my life, really. It’s just not an emotion I utilize. Persecution for being an activist is just part of the job. I mean, you have to expect that you’re not going to make change without taking risks and without making sacrifices. You need to turn that into a story to dramatize the issue and get people’s attention. I’ve been arrested and put in jail many, many times, but I’ve never been convicted of a crime. I’ve also never injured a single person in my entire career over the last 50 years. In 1977, I developed a strategy that I call aggressive nonviolence. We would aggressively intervene, but we aren’t going to hurt anybody and we have to operate within the boundaries of both the law and practicality. “ - Captain Paul Watson. Read the full story online.

💙 GOOD NEWS: A groundbreaking agreement has been reached requiring the U.S. to halt seafood imports that fail to meet its strict marine mammal protection standards. Starting January 1, 2026, the ban will shield vulnerable species like whales, dolphins, and seals from harmful fishing practices abroad while ensuring U.S. fishers are not disadvantaged by foreign competitors. The deal, finalized in the U.S. Court of International Trade, stems from a lawsuit filed by the Animal Welfare Institute, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), and the Center for Biological Diversity, represented by Anderson & Kreiger LLP. The lawsuit targeted federal agencies, including the Department of Commerce, National Marine Fisheries Service, Department of the Treasury, and Department of Homeland Security. “This agreement is a major win for marine mammals,” said Georgia Hancock, senior attorney for the Animal Welfare Institute. “Bycatch poses a serious threat to marine wildlife, causing death or severe injuries to countless animals trapped in fishing gear.” Globally, over 650,000 marine mammals die annually due to bycatch, which is recognized as the greatest threat to their survival. This agreement enforces long-standing rules, setting a new global precedent for marine mammal conservation and challenging other nations to adopt stronger protections.