After 31 years, Japan resumes whaling (but never stopped)

Five ships, after more than 30 years, have set sail from the port of Shimonoseki and the town of Kushiro in Japan, to start whaling for commercial purposes.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

The harpoons under the tarps ready to be pulled out to kill. Five ships, after more than 30 years, they took off from the port of Shimonoseki and from the town of Kushiro in Japan, to kick off the commercial whaling. In recent years, the nation had continued to hunt by hiding behind scientific research, now the whale meat market comes out.

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Japan has formalized its exit from the International Cetacean Hunting Commission, which it joined in 1988. Five ships have already sailed from the port of Kushiro to the north and three more whalers from Shimonoseki in the southwestern archipelago.

After 31 years, Japan resumes whaling (but never stopped)

"From today I ask hunters to hunt whales in compliance with the quota and aim for a return of this whaling industry," said Fisheries Minister Takamori Yoshikawa.

As we know, the Japanese country had announced the choice (condemned by public opinion and environmentalists) to leave the International Whaling Commission, IWC. Before, however, in every way, he had tried to convince its members that an "ethical and controlled" hunt was possible. What will change now?

After 31 years, Japan resumes whaling (but never stopped)

Limited hunting, but a massacre nonetheless

We said that it was exactly 31 years that Japan had not hunted for commercial purposes. Now the boats will be able to kill up to 227 whales until the end of December, as established by the Ministry of Agriculture and announced at the close of the G20 summit in Osaka. A method that according to a vision of the minister himself would lead to the fact that “the practice could be continued for another hundred years without impacting their sustainability”.
The 227 include 52 minke whales, 150 bryde whales and 25 boreal fin whales.

After 31 years, Japan resumes whaling (but never stopped)

The consumption of whale meat in Japan

Whaling has therefore resumed, despite the data on meat consumption telling us that it is not such a thriving market. In the 60s, it consumed about 200.000 tons per year, but in recent years it has dropped to less than 5.000 tons, according to government data.

A government spokesman then specified that hunting will be allowed only in the territorial waters and in the exclusive economic zone of Japan, while it will be prohibited in the waters of Antarctica and in the southern hemisphere.

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