Japanese fishing village of Taiji thrust into spotlight

Travel

The Japanese fishing village of Taiji featured in "The Cove," which won an Oscar for best documentary, is centered around dolphins, for both hunting purposes and entertainment pleasure.

Fishermen talk each other by their boats at a port in the southwestern Japanese town of Taiji, Monday, March 8, 2010. The Japanese fishing village featured in "The Cove, " which won an Oscar for best documentary, defended Monday its practice of hunting dolphins as a part of its tradition. Residents of this remote village nestled on the rocky coast expressed disgust at the covertly filmed movie, which they said distorted the truth, though few acknowledged seeing it in its entirety.

Fishing boats leave a port of the southwestern Japanese town of Taiji.

Fishing boats are moored at a port while cars go past sculptures of whales, the symbol of the southwestern Japanese town of Taiji.

A woman walks by sculptures of whales, the symbol of the southwestern Japanese town of Taiji.

A dolphin demonstrates a flip at a dolphin pool in Taiji, southwestern Japan, where visitors can play with the animals and watch them perform tricks.

A dolphin performs with rings at a dolphin pool in Taiji, southwestern Japan, where visitors can play with the animals.

A worker adjusts a net at a dolphin pool in Taiji, southwestern Japan, where visitors can play with the animals.

Takeshi Kato, president of Unplugged in Tokyo, distributor of "The Cove" in Japan, receives a congratulatory call at his office in Tokyo after the movie about dolphin hunting in southwestern Japan won an Oscar for best documentary. Kato said the faces of dozens of Taiji residents are being blurred out for the Japan version of "The Cove" to ward off possible lawsuits under Japanese law that protect privacy. "Our purpose is not to attack the people of Taiji," he said.

This English notice advises the media to refrain from taking photographs and interviewing people inside is displayed on the window of a grocery store in Taiji. The locals have become suspicious of outsiders since the release of "The Cove," a documentary featuring the dolphin hunting practices of this Japanese fishing village.

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Fishermen talk each other by their boats at a port in the southwestern Japanese town of Taiji, Monday, March 8, 2010. The Japanese fishing village featured in "The Cove, " which won an Oscar for best documentary, defended Monday its practice of hunting dolphins as a part of its tradition. Residents of this remote village nestled on the rocky coast expressed disgust at the covertly filmed movie, which they said distorted the truth, though few acknowledged seeing it in its entirety.

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