Japan to restart commercial whaling on July 1 after three-decade hiatus
A fleet of vessels will depart from Kushiro, Hokkaido, on July 1 as Japan resumes commercial whaling following a three-decade hiatus after the government announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission in December, a local fishery source said Friday. A fleet of five vessels ...
Whaling fleet leaves for north Japan waters in last ostensibly scientific mission before IWC exit
Four whaling vessels left a port in Miyagi Prefecture on Thursday to take part in the last of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country's exit from the International Whaling Commission at the end of June. The ships, which left the ...
Japanese fleet's return to port spells end to contentious research whaling in Antarctic Ocean
A ceremony to welcome home a fleet of whaling ships, including the 8,145-ton Nisshin Maru, from the Antarctic Ocean took place in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Sunday. The return brings an end to Japan's whaling in the Antarctic Ocean for scientific research, which started in ...
Whaling vessel leaves Taiji port for last 'scientific' mission before Japan withdraws from IWC
A whaling vessel left the port of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, on Friday for the last mission of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country withdraws from the International Whaling Commission and starts commercial whaling from July. The No. 7 Katsu Maru ...
Ishinomaki whale-tooth artisan who lost shop on 3/11 sees chance to preserve tradition
In a once-booming whaling community in the northeast, an artisan has managed to keep alive a whale-tooth crafting tradition after his store was destroyed by the mega-quake and tsunami in 2011. Carver Masayuki Chijimatsu, 65, now sells seals and accessories made from the teeth of ...
Iceland gives industry the OK to hunt up to 2,130 fin and minke whales over five years
Iceland's whaling industry will be allowed to keep hunting whales for at least another five years, killing up to 2,130 baleen whales under a new regulation issued by the Nordic nation's government. The five-year whaling policy was up for renewal when Fisheries Minister Kristjan Juliusson ...
Unconscionable globally, 'indispensable' locally, Japanese whalers call industry 'a way of life'
Neatly lining up sliced whale meat to make jerky in the wintry sea breeze, Tetsuya Masaki says whaling is just part of daily life in his tiny community of Minamiboso. Japan sparked outrage in December when it decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission ...
New whaling body and rules should be created under Japan's leadership, Tokyo IWC envoy says
Japan's envoy to the International Whaling Commission has called for new whaling rules to be created under the country's leadership following Tokyo's decision late last year to leave the international body and resume commercial whaling. The exit from the IWC, slated for June, will be ...
During a lecture given by a nonprofit organization on Friday, students at Nishisugamo Elementary School in Toshima Ward, Tokyo, learned about Japan's traditional culture of eating whale meat. Some 40 fifth-graders at the school listened attentively to the lecture, which featured topics including the historical ...
Japan's commercial whaling to start in July for the first time in 31 years
A local fisheries association in western Japan will resume commercial whaling from July 1 for the first time in 31 years, association sources have said. The move comes after Japan announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in December. An association ship in Taiji, ...
The condemnation of Japan became louder with the announcement that Tokyo would leave the International Whaling Commission, but is there a benefit to this?
Japanese government pushes back against New York Times editorial on whaling
The government rebuts an editorial in The New York Times urging Japan to halt its whaling practices, saying the country is committed to the conservation of whales.
