Stop the cruel slaughter of dolphins in Japan!

Dear Mr. Kan,

We are outraged by the brutal slaughter of more than 20,000 dolphins in Taiji, Japan every year, and how their meat, which contains toxic levels of mercury, is being sold as food. 

Historically, the Japanese government has looked the other way to prevent the information about this slaughter from getting out. Recently, images of thousands of mangled corpses and bloody red water have been shown around the world. These images have verified that Japan has little respect for the state of the world%u2019s oceans and the conservation of the marine resources it claims to support. 

Your country's citizens are unaware of the annual slaughter because Japanese newspapers and networks have not covered the story and the Yakuzza (Japanese Mafia) have been preventing access to the cove to secure the profits they share from this practice. The Taiji fishermen, not the Japanese people, are guilty of this tragedy. By your failure to address this practice, you are allowing this national coverup to continue and it will only be a matter of time before the majority of Japanese citizens are so outraged that they begin asking why you allowed it to continue. 

It is unforgivable that over 20,000 dolphins each year will end up as a meat product or deceptively sold as whale meat, polluted with toxic levels of mercury and cadmium, poisoning the people that eat it. You are aware of a similar situation this practice caused during the 1950's in Minamata, Japan. At this location, Japanese funded studies discovered deadly consequences for citizens eating mercury contaminated dolphin meat. This will happen again at Taiji and the places this meat is sold to if you do not stop this practice. 

In addition, the methods used to kill these intelligent mammals are extremely cruel, such as corralling them into coves, making them suffer a long and painful death by bleeding and drowning. It is also unacceptable that the remaining dolphins that are not killed will end up destined for a shortened, stressful life in an aquarium, water park, or "swim with dolphins" program. All in the interest of profiteering from the animals.This entire event is a disgraceful embarrassment to Japan. 

Many scientific studies show that the oceans are in decline. The status of the species of dolphins that Taiji fisherman kill are either endangered, threatened, or unknown. Moreover, the fisherman of Taiji are killing the dolphins within a national park and don't have jurisdiction there. 

We demand that Japan permanently and immediately stop this slaughter, the use of contaminated dolphin meat and the export of dolphins for profit and we will continue to work diligently to bring this issue to the attention of the citizens of Japan, international regulators, politicians and media officials until you end this reprehensible act. Sincerely,

[Your name]