Yes to PM on nukes, no on whales
Matthew Franklin; 13/6/08
Kevin Rudd has won Japanese support for his plan to kick-start nuclear disarmament through reform of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. But Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has flatly rejected his demand that Japanese whalers cease their annual hunt in the Southern Ocean, expressing hope the dispute would not undermine relations between the countries. Mr Rudd’s meeting and lunch with Mr Fukuda in Tokyo yesterday wound up his four-day visit to Japan before he left for Indonesia.
See: http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23856019-2702,00.html
Whaling policy appears high and dry
Andrew Darby; 12/6/08
Nothing has changed, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd repeatedly said, calming doubters over his Government’s whaling policy. But that’s the point. Rudd reassured Australians demanding international legal action against Japan that he had always wanted to try the diplomatic route first, and reserved the right to go to courts later. Now, six months after promising to take up the fight against whaling in the Southern Ocean with a vigour unseen in decades, Rudd left Tokyo yesterday with no visible diplomatic gain. Instead, using the failed language of the Howard government, he said the two countries “agreed to disagree”.
See: http://www.theage.com.au/national/whaling-policy-appears-high-and-dry-20080612-2pol.html
Tags: Australia, Environment, Nuclear Arms