Members of the Nisshin Maru's crew have blown the whistle on the secret trade which could crumble the foundations of Japan's claims that its annual whale hunt is carried out for research alone. When Sato became suspicious of one curiously labelled crate, he decided to "expose [the scandal] in a way the public can see". But those in the pro-whaling lobby are unrepentant. Masayuki Komatsu is the public face of Japan's whaling policy. He infamously declared the minke whale "the cockroach of the ocean". As he tucks into whale meat with old buddies he dismisses the new evidence, insisting Japanese public opinion supports whaling. Now, this report reveals that even hunters with decades of experience are turning against whaling, and revealing for the first time the corrupt truth behind the so-called 'scientific research' which poaches thousands of whales every year. Japan's whaling programme stands on very shaky ground ahead of this month's International Whaling Commission convention.