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Japan whalers blame Sea Shepherd harassment 

The last ship of Japan's Antarctic whaling fleet sailed home Monday with the lowest catch in years, a shortfall whalers blamed on high-seas clashes with the militant environmental group Sea Shepherd.

The mother ship the Nisshin Maru sailed into Tokyo harbour, the last of the five harpoon ships to come home after they set sail in November, its hull splattered with blood-red paint thrown by the protesters.

The fleet's catch of 507 whales was down sharply on last year's cull of 680 and below the target of about 850, said Japan's Fisheries Agency, which blamed a total of 31 days of harassment by the Sea Shepherd group.

It was the smallest catch on record except for the 2006-07 expedition when the fleet caught only 505 whales after a fire aboard a ship hampered whaling operations.

This season's confrontations in icy Antarctic waters saw the sinking of a Sea Shepherd vessel and the arrest of one of its activists, a New Zealander who faces trial in Japan for assault, trespass and three other charges.

Whalers and their opponents also blasted each other with water cannons, while activists hurled rancid butter stink bombs, and the whalers targeted the environmentalists with a sonic crowd control device.

"I am furious," said the whaling fleet's leader Shigetoshi Nishiwaki.

He charged that the activists "say they want to protect the ocean, but they don't care about leaking oil or leaving pieces of a broken ship behind", a reference to the group's sunken powerboat the Ady Gil.

Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since 1986 but Japan justifies its annual hunts as lethal "scientific research", while not hiding the fact that the meat is later sold in shops and restaurants.

Tensions have risen between whaling nations, also including Iceland and Norway, and anti-whaling nations such as Australia, which has threatened to take Japan to the International Court of Justice over the issue.

The International Whaling Commission, which meets in June in Morocco, is considering a plan to allow whaling nations to hunt the ocean giants openly if they agree to reduce their catch "significantly" over 10 years.

However, so far Japan, Australia and other key nations have rejected the plan, while New Zealand has voiced support for the compromise.

In Japan, meanwhile, two cases involving anti-whaling activists are now moving though the criminal justice system. 

Kiyomizudera Temple

Kiyomizudera ("Pure Water Temple") is one of the most celebrated temples of Japan. It was founded in 780 and remains associated with the Hosso sect, one of the oldest sects within Japanese Buddhism. In 1994, the temple was added to the list of UNESCO world heritage sites.

Kiyomizudera stands in the wooded hills of eastern Kyoto and offers visitors a nice view over the city from its famous wooden terrace. Below the terrace, you can taste the spring water, which gives the temple its name and which is said to have healing power.

Behind Kyomizudera's main hall stands Jishu Shrine, a shrine dedicated to the deity of love. In front of the shrine are two rocks, placed several meters apart from each other. Successfully walking from one to the other rock with your eyes closed is said to bring luck in your love life.

Part of the fun of visiting Kiyomizudera is the approach to the temple along the steep and busy lanes of the atmospheric Higashiyama district. Except early in the morning, do not expect a tranquil, spiritual atmosphere.

The many shops, restaurants and ryokan in the area have been catering to tourists and pilgrims for centuries. Products on sale range from local specialties such as Kiyomizu-yaki pottery, sweets and pickles to the standard set of souvenirs.

Kiyomizudera can be reached from Kyoto Station in about 15 minutes by bus. Take bus number 100 or 206 and get off at Kiyomizu-michi or Gojo-zaka, from where it is a 10-15 minute uphill walk to the temple. 

Nuclear Summit

Leaders of 47 nations gather in Washington today at President Obama's Nuclear Security Summit to discuss how to keep nuclear weapons out of the hands of terrorists.

The two-day meeting is the largest called by an American president since Franklin D. Roosevelt organized the 1945 meeting that created the United Nations.

In preparation, Mr. Obama warned Sunday that Al Qaeda was still actively seeking the materials to build an atomic bomb and that a terrorist organization acquiring nuclear weapons was "the single biggest threat to U.S. security, both short-term, medium-term and long-term."

The meeting's agenda, however, does not address the Pakistan-India arms race, perhaps one of the most significant nuclear issues of the day, because administration officials feel the topic would be too divisive for a such a large summit, report The Times's David E. Sanger and William J. Broad.

Still, after a meeting Sunday with Yousaf Raza Gilani, Pakistan's new prime minister, Mr. Obama "expressed disappointment" that the country was blocking negotiations on a treaty that would halt production of new nuclear material worldwide. Mr. Obama also met Sunday with Manmohan Singh, the prime minister of India, as well as the leaders of two countries that gave up their nuclear weapons, South Africa and Kazakhstan.

In advance of the summit, the United States and Russia ― which together hold 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons ― signed a treaty last Thursday. And, earlier last week, the administration released its revised nuclear policy, which singled out Iran and North Korea.