American environmentalists call the drift nets used by Japanese squid fishermen "walls of death." They claim that the nets, which stretch for miles, kill vast numbers of seabirds and marine mammals, including endangered species of albatross and dolphins. The nets also catch large numbers of unwanted fish, which die before they are discarded. Last week the environmentalists won when the Japanese government bowed to international pressure and promised that drift-net fishing would stop by the end of 1992. Taiwan and South Korea also indicated that they would discontinue the practice.

The Japanese fishing industry had been arguing that the nets were no more damaging to the environment than other methods of commercial fishing. They said they would try to reduce accidental kills and insisted they could adequately protect marine resources. But a U.S.-sponsored resolution in the U.N. to end the use of drift nets generated wide support.

"Since no other country sided with us," said Masami Tanabu, the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "we had to consider Japan's position in international society and yield."