Japan courts controversy over commercial whaling
JAPANESE fishermen set sail on Monday to hunt whales commercially for the first time in more than three decades after Tokyo’s controversial withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) triggered outrage from environmental groups.
The planned hunts, while small and far from internationally protected waters, have also sparked anger in countries where whaling is considered outdated and harmful.
But in Japan, whaling communities hailed the return of the practice, with Tokyo defending it as a tradition that should not be subject to outside interference.
For years, the issue of whaling was a diplomatic headache for Japan, which came under attack for exploiting an IWC loophole to hunt whales for “scientific” purposes.
Critics accused Japan of effectively carrying out stealth whaling, saying the hunts had no scientific value, while Tokyo continued to push for permission to resume commercial whaling outright.
But last year it announced it would simply withdraw from the IWC and no longer comply with its decades-old ban on commercial killing of the ocean giants.
The decision comes into effect from July 1, when a flotilla of ships that once carried out whaling for “scientific research” will set sail from the Shimonoseki port in western Japan.
Elsewhere, five small whaling boats from across the country will gather in Kushiro port in northern Japan and start hunting minkes for about a week in a symbolic event celebrating the resumption of the practice.