Problems
Japan is in violation of the IWC moratorium on all commercial whaling
Like other whaling nations, Japan argues hunting and eating whales are part of its culture. A number of coastal communities in Japan have indeed hunted whales for centuries but consumption only became widespread after World War Two when other food was scarce. Japan has long campaigned without success for the IWC to allow commercial whaling. Its last commercial hunt was in 1986, but Japan has never really stopped whaling - it has been conducting instead what it says are research missions which catch hundreds of whales annually. Japanese whalers also undertake hunts of dolphins such as those at Taiji, which are not subject to IWC rules. Anti-whaling governments and groups have strongly opposed Japan's whaling program. Greenpeace argues that whales are endangered and must be protected. The Japanese government claims that it strongly supports the protection of endangered species, and the scientific whaling is essential to gather information about the status of the various populations. It further claims that the scale of the research is such that it does not affect the stock of the species. In 2002, the World Wildlife Fund published an open letter to the Japanese in the New York Times signed by a group of international scientists, stating their assertion that "Japan's whale 'research' program fails to meet minimum standards for credible science". They accused Japan of "using the pretense of scientific research to evade its commitments to the world community." Sea Shepherd Conservation Society contends that Japan, as well as Iceland and Norway, is in violation of the IWC moratorium on all commercial whaling. Anti-whaling campaigners claim that the Japanese public does not support the government for its whaling policy.
Gallery
4
Timelines
2021
Japanese whaling vessels hunted a self-allocated quota of 171 minke whales, 187 Bryde's whales and 25 sei whales.
2019
On July 1st Japan resumed commercial whaling after leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Japan's commercial whale hunt puts ocean health at risk, says conservationist.
2018
The four-month expedition in the Antarctic ended in March after the fleet killed 333 minke whales, according to a report submitted by Japanese authorities to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Of those, 122 were pregnant, according to the Japanese report, with dozens more immature whales among those killed.
2015
Japan resumed hunting in the 2015-2016 season, capping its Antarctic catch with a quota of 333 whales annually.
2014
The International Court of Justice ruled that Japan should halt its Antarctic whaling. Japan suspended its hunt for one season to retool its whaling program with measures such as cutting the number of whales and species targeted.
1987
But there were exceptions in the moratorium, allowing indigenous groups to carry out subsistence whaling, and allowing whaling for scientific purposes. Tokyo put that latter clause to full use. Since 1987, Japan has killed between 200 and 1,200 whales each year, saying this was to monitor stocks to establish sustainable quotas. Critics say this was just a cover so Japan could hunt whales for food, as the meat from the whales killed for research usually did end up for sale.
1986
Japan has withdrawn from the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which banned hunting. On July 1, first whaling fleet was sent out with permits to take 227 whales. The first whale - a minke - was brought back to shore that day.
1982
Taking into account the lack of knowledge about the abundance and condition of cetacean populations, the IWC decided to introduce a moratorium on commercial whaling of all kinds.
1960
By the 1960s, more efficient catch methods and giant factory ships made it obvious that whale hunting could not go unchecked.
1940
From the late of the year to the mid-1960s whale was the single biggest source of meat in Japan.