Japan set to resume commercial whaling
Print Edition
JAPAN has announced it is leaving the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial hunts for the first time in 30 years — although it will not target Antarctic waters.
Japan switched to what it calls research whaling after the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in the 1980s, but now says stocks have recovered enough to resume commercial hunts.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Japan would resume commercial whaling in July “in line with Japan’s basic policy of promoting sustainable use of aquatic living resources based on scientific evidence.”
He said the IWC is dominated by conservationists.
Suga said the commercial hunts would be limited to Japan’s territorial waters and its 323-kilometer exclusive economic zone along its coasts.
He said Japan would stop its annual whaling expeditions to the Antarctic and northwest Pacific oceans.
The IWC imposed the moratorium on commercial whaling three decades ago due to a dwindling whale population.
In 1987, Japan switched to what is called research whaling, but the program has been criticized as a cover for commercial hunting since the meat is sold on the market at home.
Japanese officials said that even after leaving the whaling convention, it will remain as an observer to the IWC and plans to continue participating in the group’s scientific meetings and annual conferences.
The environmental group Greenpeace condemned the announcement and disputed Japan’s view that whale stocks have recovered.
“The declaration today is out of step with the international community, let alone the protection needed to safeguard the future of our oceans and these majestic creatures,” said Sam Annesley, executive director of Greenpeace Japan.
Australia’s government, often a vocal critic of Japan’s whaling policies, said it was “extremely disappointed” with Japan’s decision to quit the commission.
However, New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters joined Australia in welcoming Japan’s withdrawal from the southern ocean.
Japanese Fisheries Agency official Hideki Moronuki said Japan plans to use seven existing whaling hubs on the Pacific coast for the upcoming commercial hunts.
The Fisheries Agency said Japan plans to catch three kinds of whale that are believed to have sufficient stocks — minke, sei and Bryde’s.
The withdrawal from the IWC may be a face-saving step to stop Japan’s ambitious Antarctic hunts and scale down the scope of whaling to around the Japanese coasts. Fisheries officials have said Japan annually consumes thousands of tons of whale meat from the research hunts, mainly by older Japanese seeking a nostalgic meal. But critics say they doubt commercial whaling can be a sustainable industry because younger Japanese may not view whales as food.
Nonetheless, Japanese politicians want to promote whales not only as a source of protein but as part of Japan’s cultural tradition.
“We hope the resumption will lead to the economic revitalization of (whaling) communities,” Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Takamori Yoshikawa said.
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