Actress Hayden Panettiere, who had joined an animal rights group in a protest against the slaughter of dolphins in the historic whaling town of Taiji, Japan, had been warned against stepping into the country again by local authorities. This incident took place last November. Now however, the Japanese government seems to have gotten over it all. Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura has personally welcomed the actress back to the country, telling her she has nothing to fear.
Hayden said, "I think they issued an arrest warrant to pretty much scare me from coming back. I went and had a meeting with the Foreign Minister and he said I was welcome any time. Very kind man. Very welcoming, and he said I was his most welcome guest, so that's a shocker."
Hayden loves Japan and now that she has received the clearance to visit any time, she can’t wait to go there. "The culture is such that it's one of the kindest, most polite, most welcoming cultures you can ever run across," she said.
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