T he Japanese marketplace may well be an ally to save the whale activists around the world, as the country experiences an unprecedented glut of whale meat on the open market.

In a recent article on the Yahoo News website, Associated Press writer Hiroko Tabuchi wrote that Japan has more whale meat than consumers can eat, as a result of an expanded whale hunt unconvincingly veiled under the guise of scientific research.

"Prices — once about $15 a pound — are plunging, inventories are bursting and promoters are scrambling to get Japanese to eat more whale," Tabuchi wrote.

It's an interesting dilemma. Tokyo has done its level best to tell the world it's a Japanese right to eat whale meat, but it's a right its own citizens really don't seem to want, save for those die hards who hold fast to Japanese traditions.

Young Japanese, many of whom are unhappy about the bad publicity thrown on Japan by several Western activist groups, have questioned the need to whale at all. And as prices fall for whale meat, questions regarding the viability of the whaling industry won't be too far behind.

So far, the Japanese government's appeal for Japanese to eat more whale meat has been about as effective as its push for citizens to eat more rice. Foreign food influences are slowly changing Japanese tastes, and food stuffs like pasta and breads are eating into Japanese rice producers' share of the market.

So much so that Japan 's rice producers need to be heavily subsidized just to stay on the land.

The mad cow crisis that hit North American cattle markets in 2003 brought home just how much the Japanese government wants to keep foreign influences out of it's food markets. Japanese officials were quoted as saying they weren't concerned about the loss of American and Canadian beef in grocery store displays, as it would bolster local beef sales, and help increase the consumption of other Japanese meat products.

The effects of mad cow are still be felt by Canada and the United States , and while Canadian beef has been allowed to re-enter the Japanese marketplace, American beef has been banned after it violated its own agreement with Japan by sending banned body parts which could potentially be infected with BSE.

Pamphlets distributed by the government-affiliated Japan Whaling Association proclaiming whale meat as "Delicious Whales" haven't made much of a dent in less than stellar whale meat sales. And while the product has been introduced into Japanese schools, it's a tough sell.

Despite Tokyo 's attempts to influence Japanese eating habits, it really comes down to what consumers want, and what the world's marketplace will allow. You can advertise the virtues of whale meat to death, but unless the product is worth buying, both for the food content, and the fashion and fads of the time, you won't make people swallow it.

In Canada , if farmers can't make any money growing wheat, they move on to better cash crops like navy beans or into niche markets such as organic products. If Japan 's whalers can't make a profit from slaughtering whales, the bulk of them will go on to other more profitable ventures.

While interest groups and activists have been constantly pushing their non- whaling message to anyone who will listen, it may ultimately lie with free enterprise to save the day, and the whales.

Matt Goerzen is the managing editor of The Foreigner-Japan, and a reporter/photographer for the Brandon Sun daily newspaper in Manitoba, Canada . The original story by Hiroko Tabuchi was first published on Thursday, Feb. 9.