Letter To Mr Cho, RE: Whaling

Mr Fujio Cho, Chairman
Toyota Motor Corporation
1 Toyota-cho
Toyota
Aichi 471-8571
JAPAN

RE: Whaling & Japanese Corporate Responsibility

Dear Mr Cho,

We all have relatives that we're embarrassed to admit are related to us, either directly or indirectly. I've got my Uncle Bernie. Former President Carter had "Billy". Ronald Reagan had "Nancy". The Russians had Yeltsin. The Bush family has "W". And you've got those lunatic scientists and whalers, who conjure up one idiotic excuse after the next in order justify the height of senseless and barbaric slaughtering of the magnificent creatures we call "Whales" (Sit down Pour yourself a whiskey and see the spectacular video here).

I can understand your desire to distance yourself from the likes of Mr Kunio Arai, Head of the Japanese Whaling Association and his cohorts, who do nothing but embarrass civilized Japanese people by conjuring images of the occupation of Manchuria, comfort women, and other historical wrongs that we'd all like to forget, with his rhetoric and absurdities justifying the unjustifiable. But humanity now dictates that you, as Chairman of Japan's most powerful and successful global enterprise, and Vice-Chairman of the Keidanren, the most powerful business association in Japan, take a strong and vocal stand AGAINST the shameful actions of the very small minority clinging to the vestiges of a history now-gone, who promote and justify the slaughter of these magnificent sea-mammals. No less than one-thousand ("1000"), do they plan to kill on their recently announced series of expeditions to the world's southern oceans, including 50 Humpbacks, the gentle and most-intelligent species starring movies above.

To help Toyota understand just how intensely I personally feel about this, I will, from this moment, refuse to purchase (rent, hire or lease) any motor vehicle or product produced by your fine enterprise, until the whaling by the small minority of trouble-makers in your country has ceased in its entirety. Moreover, I will encourage ALL of my family, friends, business associates and readers to do the same. And just so you don't feel that it's personal, or that Toyota is being single-out amongst Japanese enterprise, I will be sending similar letters to Mr Fujio Mitarai, Chairman of the Keidanren, and Chairman and CEO of Canon Corporation, and all other major Japanese enterprises whose products and services I will NOT be using until the Business Leaders of Japan take the initiative to force an end to what concerned individuals and national governments around the world have been unable to accomplish.

Sadly, I would prefer to buy a Toyota Prius this Spring when I upgrade my vehicle. And I know my son would prefer a Nintendo Gameboy for Christmas, and my wife, a Canon IXUS 750. But such is our resolve, and so strong do we feel, that I will NOT allow this to happen, for sometimes, meaningful change requires sacrifice in order to save the things that we cherish.

Time to stop the impending slaughter is running out. I look forward to your reply on the above, and to hearing Toyota's action plan for stopping this, and any and all future slaughter of whales by Japanese "scientists" and "fishermen" alike, and wish you much luck in your efforts to effect swift and meaningful abolition of such practices.

Yours respectfully,

A Cassandra

P.S. - I believe that Japanese Corporations underestimate the intensity of interest of this issue, and the potential economic effects upon your enterprises, as you will see when activism surface sat every primary, secondary school and university around America and Europe, in what may be the first truly Grassroots Global Boycott.

P.S.S - I would even buy a GM, Ford or heaven forbid a Proton rather than reward a society that slaughters whales.