Japanese town slams ‘Cove’ Oscar win

TAIJICHO, Japan — People in Taijicho voiced their disappointment over “The Cove” winning the Oscar for best documentary at the Academy Awards on Sunday night, saying the film about the town’s dolphin hunting is inaccurate and intolerant of cultural differences.

Fishermen in the town have traditionally hunted dolphins. The town also has a whaling tradition.

The U.S. film, which features scenes shot secretly, was produced by an environmental preservation organization set up in 2005 by Louie Psihoyos, the film’s director.

“Documentaries are supposed to accurately report facts. But the film had an agenda,” Taijicho Mayor Kazutaka Sangen said. “I’m extremely disappointed that a film that ignores tradition was given the award.”

Miyato Sugimori, an executive of Taijicho’s fishery cooperatives, said: “I’m concerned that anti- whaling activists will take advantage of the film winning the award. I’m angry, but I have no way to protest.”

Yoji Kita, head of the Taijicho Municipal Board of Education, said: “The award shows that Westerners lack tolerance — I doubt they have good sense. I think (their lack of understanding) stems from the differences in our religious cultures.”

Meanwhile, Takeshi Kato, head of Unplugged Inc., distributor of the film in Japan, said: “The film is well-made and worth seeing, which I suppose is why it won the award. It also reflects U.S. journalists’ concerns about dolphin hunting.”

Psihoyos said via the distributor: “The real reward to me will occur when the dolphin slaughter is stopped, dolphins go free and the (Taijicho) cove is returned to the people of Japan as a national park.”

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