Global InformationWhaling in Japan information
Japanese whaling, in terms of active hunting of whales, is estimated by the Japan Whaling Association to have begun around the 12th century.[1] However, Japanese whaling on an industrial scale began around the 1890s when Japan started to participate in the modern whaling industry, at that time an industry in which many countries participated.[2]
During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling. This continued until the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986. Japan continued to hunt whales using the scientific research provision in the agreement and Japanese whaling was conducted by the Institute of Cetacean Research. This was allowed under IWC rules, although most IWC members opposed it.[3] However, in March 2014, the UN's International Court of Justice ruled that the Japanese whaling program called "JARPA II," in the Southern Ocean including inside the Australian Whale Sanctuary, was not in accordance with the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and was not for scientific purposes, as it had claimed.[4][5] They ordered Japan to cease operations.[6] In response to the ruling, Japan formulated a new Antarctic research whaling program, "NEWREP-A", to replace JARPAII. Under this program, 333 Antarctic minke whales were hunted each year from FY2015 to FY2018.[7] Japan withdrew from the IWC and resumed commercial whaling on 1 July 2019, claiming that the IWC's original goal of sustainable whaling had been lost. As a result, Japanese whaling will now only take place in Japan's territorial waters and exclusive economic zones.[8][9]
Antarctic hunts were a source of conflict between pro- and anti-whaling countries and organizations. Antarctic minke whales have experienced an apparent decline in population, though the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) indicates that it lacks sufficient data to confer a threatened designation on the species of minke whale.[10] The UN's International Court of Justice, in addition to other countries, scientists, and environmental organizations, consider the Japanese research program to be unnecessary and lacking scientific merit, and describe it as a thinly disguised commercial whaling operation.[11][5][4][12][13][14][15][16] Japan maintains that annual whaling is sustainable and necessary for scientific study and management of whale stocks, though the Antarctic minke whale populations have declined since the beginning of the JARPA program[10] and those species harvested have shown increasing signs of stress.[17] Japan, echoing Norway's arguments on its own whaling activities, also argues it is entitled to continue whaling because of whaling's place in its cultural heritage.[18][19][20] The whale meat from these hunts is sold in shops and restaurants, and is showcased at an annual food festival that, in some cases, features the butchering of a whale for onlookers.[21][22][23] A poll in 2014 found that few Japanese people have been eating whale meat regularly since whale-based dishes disappeared from school lunches in 1987.[11]
- ^ "History of whaling". Japan Whaling Association. Retrieved August 16, 2013.
- ^ Watson, Paul (June 27, 2006). "The Truth about "Traditional" Japanese Whaling". Dick Russel.
- ^ Kirby, Alex (June 11, 2000). "Whaling ban set to end". BBC News.
- ^ a b "International court orders Japan to immediately stop whaling in Antarctic". ABC News. March 31, 2014. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ a b Ahmed, Saeed (March 31, 2014). "U.N. court orders Japan to halt whale hunt". CNN. Retrieved July 2, 2017.
- ^ "Japan ordered to immediately stop whaling in Antarctic as International Court of Justice rules program was not carried out for scientific purposes". ABC News. Australia. March 31, 2014. Archived from the original on March 31, 2014.
- ^ Outline of the New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean (NEWREP-A). The Institute of Cetacean Research.
- ^ "Japan and the Management of Whales". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. July 19, 2022. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022.
- ^ Japan to resume commercial whaling after pulling out of IWC. Reuters
- ^ a b Cooke, J.G.; Zerbini, A.N.; Taylor, B.L. (2018). "Balaenoptera bonaerensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2018: e.T2480A50350661. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2018-1.RLTS.T2480A50350661.en. Retrieved November 12, 2021.
- ^ a b Whiteman, Hilary (June 10, 2014). "Japan's PM Shinzo Abe suggests return to Antarctic whaling". CNN. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- ^ Briand, F; Colborn, T; Dawkins, R; Diamond, J; Earle, S; Gomez, E; Guillemin, R; Klug, A; Konishi, M (May 20, 2002). "An Open Letter to the Government of Japan on "Scientific Whaling"" (PDF). The New York Times. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 19, 2007.
- ^ Larter, Paul (February 8, 2008). "Australia condemns bloody killing of whale and calf by Japanese fleet". The Times. London.
- ^ Biggs, Stuart (May 30, 2007). "Kyokuyo Joins Maruha to End Whale Meat Sales in Japan". Bloomberg.
- ^ Sekiguchi, Toko (November 20, 2007). "Why Japan's Whale Hunt Continues". Time. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007.
- ^ Plumer, Brad (March 28, 2016). "Japan's excuse for killing 33 whales in Antarctica is ridiculous". Vox. Retrieved March 29, 2016.
- ^ Konishi, Kenji (2023). "Substantial decline in energy storage and stomach fullness in Antarctic minke whales (Balaenoptera bonaerensis) during the 1990s". J. Cetacean Res. Manage. 15: 77–92. doi:10.47536/jcrm.v15i1.517. S2CID 256542138 – via ResearchGate.
- ^ "The Position of the Japanese Government on Research Whaling". Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan. Archived from the original on June 7, 2002.
- ^ "The Japanese Government's position on whaling" (PDF). Consulate-General of Japan, Melbourne. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 10, 2012.
- ^ "Japan Pleads with Whaling Watchdog to Allow cultural Hunts". Guardian.
- ^ Brown, Sophie (June 27, 2014). "Japan kicks off whaling season with meat feast". CNN. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- ^ "Whale meat on the menu at Japanese food festival". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. October 8, 2015. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 3, 2017.
- ^ "Anti-whaling activist faces arrest on arrival in Japan". AFP. March 11, 2010. Archived from the original on January 31, 2014.