Japan demands Denmark extradite Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson over whale hunting clash

Paul Watson’s arrest in Greenland sparked protests and calls for his release, while Japan insists on upholding international law and a fair trial

Reading Time:3 minutes

Leader of the environmentalist association Sea Shepherd Conservation Society Paul Watson is fighting efforts by Japan to have him extradited to stand trial for a 2010 confrontation with Japanese whalers. Photo: AFP

Published: 8:07am, 6 Sep 2024Updated: 8:22am, 6 Sep 2024

The Japanese government expects the Danish government to “make appropriate decisions based on the rule of law” and hand over Paul Watson, the anti-whaling activist and founder of the Sea Shepherd environmental group, for trial in Tokyo.

Watson was arrested in Greenland on July 21 in response to an Interpol arrest warrant issued in 2012. Tokyo has requested his transfer to face trial for a clash in the Antarctic Ocean in 2010 between a Sea Shepherd vessel and a Japanese whaling ship, the Shonan Maru 2.

Japan accuses the 73-year-old Watson, who has both Canadian and US citizenship, of obstructing the official duties of the whaling ship’s crew by ordering his crew to throw a stink bomb of butyric acid onto its deck, claiming that a crew member was injured.

If convicted, Watson faces up to 15 years in prison.

However, Sea Shepherd denies these claims, stating the “bombs” thrown were merely rancid butter to hamper the whalers’ efforts to cut up their catch.

In a statement issued to This Week in Asia, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Japan and Denmark “are strategic partners who share values and principles, including the rule of law.”