November 11^th, 1999                                           

Environmentalists call for boycott over whales

In a campaign believed to be the first of its kind, Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited (MMAL) has found itself targeted by a call for an environmental boycott, which the company believes is based on ignorance of Japanese corporate structuring.

Subject of the environmentalists’ anger is a proposed salt mine in Mexico.

They have condemned a proposal to build the world’s largest salt factory in Mexico’s Laguna San Ignacio, on the Baja Peninsula, saying the area is "the last pristine breeding ground of the Gray whale" and has four levels of legal protection, including UN World Heritage status.

They claim that Mitsubishi wants to destroy 116 square miles of the sanctuary to produce industrial salt, a key component in chlorine.

Apparently linked to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the campaign is using mass direct e-mail to urge consumers to help stop the project by boycotting Mitsubishi vehicles.

There has been no official response to the campaign by MMAL, but a spokesman said it seemed to betray a lack of understanding of Japanese company structures.

"What this campaign is talking about is something that Mitsubishi Corporation is involved with in a joint venture with a Mexican government instrumentality," the spokesman said.

"But Mitsubishi Corporation is not related directly to Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (not allowed to be by company law), except there are cross-shareholdings as they are public companies.

"Consequently, Mitsubishi Motors has no control, influence or say over what Mitsubishi Corporation does. The corporation is a trading company, and for example is a large distributor of opposition brand motor vehicles in many markets."

The campaign is believed to be the first instance of the Internet’s mass communication power being used to promote an environmental boycott of a motor manufacturer, in relation to a non-motoring issue.

Said the bemused MMAL spokesman; "Regardless of the rights or wrongs of the issue, they should at least get their facts right before launching such an attack."