Posts Tagged ‘Japan’
Japanese whaling ships leave ports to hunt for whales
Two commercial whaling vessels departed on the 10th and 11th of June from the Japanese ports of Shimonoseki and Innoshima to kill up to 187 Bryde’s whales and 25 sei whales. Japan resumed commercial whaling three years ago after leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC – the body that regulates whaling) and following widespread international…
Read MoreOne year on – Japan’s return to whaling hurts us all
Japanese whalers have slaughtered 223 whales in the 12 months since the Japanese government announced that it would resume industrial whaling, a decision which marine charity Whale and Dolphin Conservation believes will contribute to the climate emergency. Japan’s withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (the body that regulates whale hunting) at Christmas in 2018, was criticised…
Read MoreJapan’s government agrees to more funding for whale hunts
Japan’s Diet (parliament) has passed a law to help support commercial whaling through increased funding despite the falling demand for meat in the country. The government has said that it will promote the consumption of whale meat in schools as well as financially help the country’s whaling industry in securing hunting ships and crew. This…
Read MoreWill Japan’s new emperor bring new hope for whales?
This week, Japan’s Emperor Akihito offered his formal abdication to the Japanese people and delivered his last public address as emperor. He is the first Japanese monarch to stand down in more than 200 years and came to the decision to abdicate after concluding that he was unable to serve the people of Japan in…
Read MoreTaiji – another season of slaughter as marine park links grow stronger
Life as a small whale or dolphin can be precarious at the best of times, but off the coast of Japan they face a sinister threat – the fishermen of Taiji. If they’re caught up in the maelstrom of one of the infamous ‘drive hunts’ the outcome is unlikely to be a good one. They’ll…
Read MoreWDC joins NGOs to lobby Japanese PM as drive hunt season opens today
Today marks the beginning of yet another slaughter season in Japan for hundreds of dolphins. In Taiji, dolphins are herded into the notorious Cove, where some are hand-picked for a miserable lifetime in captivity, while the rest of their family pod is slaughtered – for a meat market that barely exists. In December, Japan will…
Read MoreWill nationalism trump conservation in a ‘post-truth’ world?
Is the new US Administration’s apparent negative attitude toward environmental protection an open door for renewed Japanese commercial whaling? If you have read the WDC blog regularly, you will know that we have often discussed the issue of Japanese vote buying at the International Whaling Commission (IWC). Japan has even admitted to using overseas development…
Read MoreJapanese Antarctic whaling fleet sets sail
Unfazed by the results of this year´s meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC), which decided on a new process for so called “research” whaling, two Japanese whaling ships have left the port of Shimonoseki, Japan. The fleet of four whaling vessels and a crew of 185 in total, intends killing 333 minke whales under the guise…
Read MoreAre the Japanese people growing tired of whaling?
The influential Japanese news title, the Asahi Shimbun, through an editorial, is calling on the Japanese Government to change its whaling strategy. In its editorial of November 1st 2016, titled It’s time for Japan to change its controversial whaling strategy, the paper believes that at this year’s meeting of the International Whaling Commission, ‘Japan appears to have…
Read MoreSo how was the IWC for you?
So IWC66 ends with a celebration of whale-themed ties, which, believe it or not, was won by a Japanese delegate. He was sporting a bright Moby Dick themed tie. so I guess that, as it’s a whaling themed tie, the individual concerned may be allowed back into Japan’s Far Seas Fisheries building where their whaling…
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