I am an Australian who is concerned about the killing of Humpback whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary by the Japanese government. Humpback whales are important wild animals for us socially and economically, due to the growing popularity of whale watching.

Please understand and respect that people in Australia and other countries want to protect these rare and threatened animals for future generations.

As a member of the Democratic Party of Japan, which made strong progress in the last election, I respectfully ask you to understand how Japan's whaling policy, funded by Japanese taxpayers, is creating diplomatic and environmental problems outside of Japan. And I ask you to seriously challenge the current government's whaling policy in order to stop the killing of humpback and other whales in Antarctica.

I also hope you will be able to visit Australia to go whale watching in the near future to see and experience how magnificent humpback whales are and how much the whale watching industry contributes to our economy.

Sincerely yours,