Do you believe like I do?

Have you ever noticed that your kids are always watching what you do? 

They watch how you handle stress. They see how you treat other people. They look at how you deal with your feelings. They’re very observant and they soak in all that information like little sponges. 

It may not feel like they ever listen, but they are definitely watching.

I have recently been in knots over the dolphin slaughter in Taiji, Japan. As described by the Oceanic Preservation Society:

Each year from September to May over 20,000 dolphins are slaughtered in Japan. Fishermen round them up by the hundreds using sound barriers to disorient and herd the frantic pods out of their normal migrations into hidden lagoons like the one featured in The Cove. Bottlenose dolphins, especially ones that look like Flipper, are pre-selected by trainers and sold off for upwards of $200,000 to marine mammal parks around the world, where they will remain in captivity performing as circus acts. After the trainers and spectators have left, the rest of the dolphins are inhumanely killed in what can only be described as a massacre. 

My distress has been visible; my feelings have been heart broken; my children have been watching.

So the other day, H shows me this:

I am a big fan of Nintendo. For my birthday this year, my dad and I flew to Tokyo so that I could go to a Pokémon Center. I really liked Japan and I think that Tokyo has become my new favorite city. However, I am so sad and angry that the dolphin slaughter continues in Taiji. It makes me so mad that I don't want to support any Japanese companies until a law is passed to spare the slaughter of dolphins and whales.

My question to you is: Do you know about this in your country? If kids around the world quit buying your products until dolphins were safe, would you help make it stop?

I'd like to know that the Nintendo company that I am a big fan of believes that killing dolphins and whales in Taiji is inhumane and must stop. Do you believe in ending the suffering like I do?

Your Fan (until further notice), Harry Northrop age 11 

It's a letter he's written to Nintendo, a Japan based company that he adores.

Amazing!

And, here's the reply he received from Nintendo:

Hello Harry,

Thank you for writing and for your patience for our response. I appreciate your taking the time to write to us with your feedback regarding the events going on in Taiji, Japan. I can certainly understand your thoughts on this matter and want to assure you that your comments will be added to our records so that the appropriate departments at Nintendo are aware of your position.

I was glad to hear you had the opportunity to visit a Pokémon Center when you visited Tokyo with your dad. It's also great that you are aware of events going on elsewhere in the world. As a global company, we at Nintendo always appreciate hearing what is important to all our fans, young and old alike.

Thank you again for your email. I truly hope that you can continue to support our games and systems in the future.

Sincerely,

Nintendo of America Inc 

Brendan Johnson-Dong 

If you want to help, below is a list of popular Japan based corporations. 

I'm sure you have purchased from one of these companies in the past. Perhaps a letter from a loyal fan could turn the tide, so to speak.

• Bridgestone
• Canon
• Fuji
• Hitachi
• Honda
• JAL
• Kawasaki
• Mitsubishi
• Nikon
• Nintendo
• Nissan
• Olympus
• Pentax
• Ricoh
• Sanyo
• Sega
• Sony
• Subaru
• Suzuki
• Tomy
• Toshiba
• Toyota
• Uniden
• Yamaha