Japan Returns To Commercial Whaling

Japan "research" whaling vessel on display in Taiji, Japan

In light of Japan leaving the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to continue to commercial whaling, I wanted to share some info, but I want to start with two things.

- I love whales more than almost anything.

- Please remember that people living in Japan are not all in favor of whaling,

Japan is one of my favorite places in the world and the Japanese public are some of the kindest most non-confrontational people you'll ever meet. I've been to Japan a few times, but my time in Taiji this year really showed me how difficult it is to speak up as a Japanese citizen and protest against something as controversial as this issue in a society and culture that doesn’t commonly allow people to go against the grain. A lot of the international reaction I've been seeing in response to Japan pulling out of the IWC has taken on the shape of "screw Japan," hatred towards the Japanese people, and calling them whale killers, but that would be like saying everyone in the USA is a mass shooter or lives off McDonalds (although some days it does feel like that).

It's obvious that the majority of the international public, including myself, is disgusted by the decision to so blatantly return to commercial whaling. People around the world are angry. I'm angry. If I have one thing to suggest though it's don't aim that anger and hatred towards Japan in general, instead put that energy towards empowering and supporting activists in Japan to speak up. The world already condemns it, the change will have to come from within Japan, and the further we push Japan in general away, the further we potentially are from a world without whaling.

Knowledge Is Power

Some information on whaling in Japan.

- Japan has hunted whales for centuries, and the meat was a key source of protein in the immediate post-World War II years when the country was desperately poor. Consumption has declined significantly in recent decades, with much of the population saying they rarely or never eat whale meat. Eating whale meat in Japan is no longer popular.

- Japan currently has an estimated 4.5 to 6 thousand tons of whale meat in long-term cold storage waiting to find some use for it.

- Whale meat isn't healthy. It's actually quite dangerous to consume due to high levels of mercury and pesticide contamination from agricultural run off.

- While some consider minke whale populations stable and point to much larger problems affecting whales, there is still no excuse nor need to kill these animals. (Minke whales are one of the absolute most incredible species of whale. They’re interactive, curious, and make a noise that sounds like something straight out of a Star Wars movie.) We also know so little about the ocean and do not know their full ecological role. Ocean ecosystems are delicate and intricate. Removing one species can damage another and/or cause a domino effect.

- Japan is one of three countries that continues whaling commercially. The others are Iceland and Norway.

ALSO,