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Social and Behavioral Sciences

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Honors Papers

2014

Japan

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Celebrating Extinction? The Disconnect Between Reality And Media Representation Of Bluefin Tuna In Japan, Gene Fukui Jan 2014

Celebrating Extinction? The Disconnect Between Reality And Media Representation Of Bluefin Tuna In Japan, Gene Fukui

Honors Papers

The Japanese media has perpetually glorified Bluefin tuna as the symbol of Japanese culture, cuisine, and national identity. Meanwhile, Bluefin tuna stocks are plummeting due to overfishing, and some species are international recognized as endangered. Blame is primarily placed on Japan, as the nation consumes 80% of Bluefin in the world and the government has admitted to overfishing several times. This has led to international environmental organizations and Western governments continually criticizing Japan for its unsustainable fishing practices.

This paper provides an explanation as to why there is no domestic movement within Japan to put an end to overfishing: the …