Less than a week since Japan and its allies scored a stunning victory at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) conference - paving the way for a possible return to commercial whaling - the Japanese government has inadvertently revealed how it was done: by buying the votes it needed.
In a written reply to a query on Japan's "marine-aid" to developing countries, the government has acknowledged donating 617 million yen (£2.9m) last year to St Kitts and Nevis, the Caribbean nation that hosted the IWC conference. Japan also gave £5.6m to Nicaragua, while the Pacific island cluster of Palau got £2.7m.
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