National Apr 3, 2021
A total of five boats are expected to catch 120 minke whales in waters off the Sanriku Coast and Hokkaido by late October, according to the Fisheries Agency.
National Sep 1, 2020
Dolphin 'drive hunting' season begins in Wakayama whaling town
The controversial hunting technique, in which fishermen herd dolphins and small whales into a cove where they can be killed or captured, was depicted in the 2009 documentary film "The Cove."
National Apr 21, 2020
Japan back in whaling business, but quotas and cost make meat a hard sell
Following its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), Japan resumed commercial whaling for the first time in 31 years in July 2019. Whale meat supply, however, has fallen by more than 30 percent from levels prior to the withdrawal. The government has curbed the ...
Commentary / Japan Dec 23, 2019
Japan's unviable whaling nationalism
by Shaun O'dwyer
The cultural nationalist project to re-imagine whaling as a national culinary culture will likely fail since it appears unlikely that whaling can become a viable commercial enterprise.
National Nov 20, 2019
Japan considers bill to continue public aid for commercial whaling
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday approved a plan to introduce a bill to continue providing public aid for commercial whaling, which resumed July 1 after a 31-year hiatus.
National / Crime & Legal Oct 4, 2019
Tokyo court rules against 2016 deportation order for 'Cove' dolphin activist Ric O'Barry
The Tokyo District Court ruled Thursday against a government deportation order issued to a U.S. activist opposing dolphin hunts when he tried to enter Japan three years ago. The government had argued that when Richard "Ric" O'Barry, 79, who featured in the Oscar-winning documentary "The ...
Commentary / Japan Sep 9, 2019
Boris Johnson's dismay over whaling
by Kuni Miyake
Britain's prime minister shouldn't allow the U.K.-Japan relationship to be unduly defined by a still important but strategically irrelevant issue like whaling.
National Sep 2, 2019
Japan nears catch quota for minke whales as hunt resumes off Hokkaido
Japanese whaling ships on Monday resumed hunting minke whales in coastal areas off Hokkaido, and are likely to reach their catch quota later this month. Since restarting commercial whaling in July for the first time in 31 years, the government has set a catch quota ...
National Sep 1, 2019
Fleet of boats return empty on first day of Taiji's dolphin hunting season
The hunting season for dolphins using a controversial "drive-hunting" method began Sunday in the whaling town of Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture, this time without the usual protests from animal-rights groups. While local police officers were on high alert for anti-whaling campaigns, 12 boats left the ...
National Aug 27, 2019
Japan's Fisheries Agency to seek ¥5.1 billion for commercial whaling
The Fisheries Agency plans to seek ¥5.1 billion for commercial whaling from the government in fiscal 2020, according to a draft of its budget request submitted to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Monday. The LDP approved the draft. The amount to be sought for ...
National / Politics Aug 27, 2019
Boris Johnson assures Abe of smooth Brexit at G7, seeking to calm Japan firms' concerns
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe got assurances Monday from his British counterpart Boris Johnson that he will aim for a smooth Brexit. In his first meeting since Johnson became prime minister in July, Abe called for an "orderly" departure from the European Union as Tokyo has ...
Business Aug 1, 2019
First Bryde's whale auction held since Japan's resumption of commercial whaling
A Bryde's whale auction was held on Thursday in Sendai — the first since Japan ended its 31-year commercial whaling hiatus a month ago — with cuts of the single animal on offer sold for up to ¥20,000 ($183) per kilogram. Bryde's whale meat is ...