Japan to withdraw from International Whaling Commission - Kyodo News

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Japan to withdraw from International Whaling Commission - Kyodo News

 

FILE PHOTO: Workers carve into a Baird's Beaked whale at Wada port in Minamiboso, southeast of Tokyo June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato/ File Photo

 

(Reuters) - Japan will withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in a bid to resume commercial whaling, Kyodo News reported on Thursday, citing government sources.

 

Japan's withdrawal from the IWC is planned for 2019 and will be announced by the end of this year, according to the report.

The Japanese government is considering commercial whaling only in seas near Japan and its exclusive economic zone, Kyodo reported.

 

Earlier this year, Japan's attempts to overturn a global commercial whaling ban failed when anti-whaling nations defeated a Japanese proposal that would have allowed whale hunts.

 

Japan halted commercial whaling in 1982 in line with a moratorium adopted by the IWC. Japan has hunted whales in the Southern Ocean since 1987 for what it calls "scientific research" purposes, but this has been criticized internationally as a cover for commercial purposes.

 

Japan has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is a cherished part of its food culture.

(Reporting by Rishika Chatterjee in Bengaluru; Editing by Michael Perry)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-12-20

[flyingtlger]

Well, Wale, whale.....

 

 

[keith101]

I wonder if some of their whaling fleet mysteriously sank would they continue the hunt for whale meat of which most Japanese dont like anyway , just the elderly from what i saw in a documentary .

 

[how241]

Sick, very sick to kill such a large slow reproducing animal. Is there a  shortage of things to eat in Japan ?

[BigBadGeordie]

Where will we do now without all the "scientific research" they have undertake, purely for the benefit of others, without a thought of financial gain?

[DM07]

More killing in the name of some oh-so-great- heritage and tradition!

Such a superior culture!

????

[bristolboy]

1 hour ago, BigBadGeordie said:

Where will we do now without all the "scientific research" they have undertake, purely for the benefit of others, without a thought of financial gain?

Well, for the Japanese governmet, it's actually a financial loss for the government. As someone else pointed out, the eating of whale meat has practically died out in Japanese culture. I guess for some reason the whale hunters have outsized political clout.

[bristolboy]

36 minutes ago, DM07 said:

More killing in the name of some oh-so-great- heritage and tradition!

Such a superior culture!

????

Iceland also permits whale hunting even though most of it ends being used as food at mink farms.

[ravip]

42 minutes ago, DM07 said:

More killing in the name of some oh-so-great- heritage and tradition!

Such a superior culture!

????

All cultures have their own idiosyncrasies. It is just that some cultures have an attitude problem about being 'I am the best' - it's just another human trait.

[DM07]

30 minutes ago, bristolboy said:

Iceland also permits whale hunting even though most of it ends being used as food at mink farms.

Yeah, but...this is about Japan!

That others also do it, doesn't make this action less idiotic!

[RuamRudy]

1 hour ago, ravip said:

All cultures have their own idiosyncrasies. It is just that some cultures have an attitude problem about being 'I am the best' - it's just another human trait.

For the avoidance of doubt, are you suggesting that the Japanese tradition of whale hunting should be respected?

[harada]

I think that I might now withdraw from buying anymore Japanese cars.

[Pedrogaz]

Whale meat is part of Japanese culture. It might be like I love veal which many frown upon. I don't have a problem with Japan doing some commercial whaling but I don't want everyone else doing it to sell whale meat to Japan. One country doing it I can live with. 

One poster wrote that it is only like by old people. Apart from not being true (whale meat is sold in the most popular chain sushi restaurant to be enjoyed by costumers of all ages), what is wrong if old people like to enjoy whale meat, are you arguing that because they are old they should be denied their whale meat?

[bristolboy]

3 hours ago, DM07 said:

More killing in the name of some oh-so-great- heritage and tradition!

Such a superior culture!

????

 

2 hours ago, DM07 said:

Yeah, but...this is about Japan!

That others also do it, doesn't make this action less idiotic!

The point being that DM07 applied a rather xenophobic explanation of Japan's whale hunt. But Iceland does it too. And, come to think of it, so does Norway. Is that because they consider themselves a superior culture? There are other better and more mundane explanations in the case of all 3.

[Anythingleft?]

"Most whale species are not endangered" .....yet.... if the ban is opened up some soon will be.....

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[Briggsy]

49 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

Whale meat is part of Japanese culture.

Let's bring back slavery, public executions, absolute monarchy, gladiator fights, the workhouse, tuberculosis, underage brothels and witch trials by the burning of flesh. All proud parts of our culture.

 

What a specious argument.

 

This has nothing to do with culture and everything to do with an Asian nation's government not being seen to capitulate by its own populace under Western "moral" pressure. You see the same thing with different issues in other East Asian and South East Asian countries.

Edited December 20, 2018 by Briggsy

[Prissana Pescud]

Japan has been killing dolphins in their own territorial waters for eons.

As with whales.

Then they started sending whale killing ships to the Southern Ocean when they ran out of whales to kill near Japan.

Even when the world got together to ban whaling due to most species being close to extinction, they continued killing Minke whales

for so called scientific reasons.

Minke whale meat ended up in supermarkets.

Now they want to kill kill whales in their own teritorial region. Just after they were removed from the threatened list.

As long as they leave the Southern Ocean and decimate whales in their own territory, I am half ok.

Yes, I know whales are migratory.

 But while Norway, Iceland and indigenous populations are allowed to kill whales, it is hypocritical to only condemn Japan.

[Dumbastheycome]

So after decades  of whale  hunting excused  by reason of  "research" the Japanese  have  decided  to become  honest ! 

That being that they  amongst other  nations  want to  hunt  without limit in international waters in defiance of international concern about  dwindling   herds. So be it ! 

The  "superior" species  will greedily  exterminate  another.

I can only hope  that if  wild  herds  of  elephants should  decide  to  massacre the population of Thailand or  any other  country that it be  acknowledged  that  they have  such  right and consideration for  the motive as a species. No ?

OMG  we are  pathetic.

[ravip]

4 hours ago, RuamRudy said:

For the avoidance of doubt, are you suggesting that the Japanese tradition of whale hunting should be respected?

No, definitely not. Not only whales, I wouldn't  justify the killing of a dog for that matter. But, as you see today, whole nations are destroyed for the sake of financial gains.

Hence I said "It is just that some cultures have an attitude problem about being 'I am the best' - it's just another human trait" 

The whale killers will accuse the dog killers, the dog killers will accuse the human killers and so forth each 'human' will justify their killings.

[DM07]

15 hours ago, bristolboy said:

 

The point being that DM07 applied a rather xenophobic explanation of Japan's whale hunt. But Iceland does it too. And, come to think of it, so does Norway. Is that because they consider themselves a superior culture? There are other better and more mundane explanations in the case of all 3.

Well...the Japanese see themselves as a superior culture.

The Icelanders hunt whales and also point to tradition and culture, which is equally sh1tty as is any whale- hunting, which is just frogging anachronistic!

[Cryingdick]

20 hours ago, how241 said:

Sick, very sick to kill such a large slow reproducing animal. Is there a  shortage of things to eat in Japan ?

 

Most of the types of whales the Japanese harvest aren't rare or endangered. If something is bountiful it should be used to a certain extent. You want to talk about a travesty of the oceans look no further than the Brits and their "proper" cod fish and chips. 

[Baerboxer]

I trust all those highly moral first world countries that love to lecture and sanction nations they consider to be behaving inappropriately will now admonish and sanction Japan.

 

Disgusting and inexcusable slaughter of noble creatures. Hope some billionaire buys those who risk their lives to thwart whale hunters a submarine!

[ravip]

10 hours ago, DM07 said:

Well...the Japanese see themselves as a superior culture.

The Icelanders hunt whales and also point to tradition and culture, which is equally sh1tty as is any whale- hunting, which is just frogging anachronistic!

Well...the Japanese see themselves as a superior culture.

I have absolutely no experience with the Japanese. But how did you come to the conclusion that they see themselves as a superior culture? Because, some accuse the Thai's also of this same 'thinking'.

Any specific place where this information is documented? Or is it purely an individual 'assessment'?

[bristolboy]

9 hours ago, Cryingdick said:

 

Most of the types of whales the Japanese harvest aren't rare or endangered. If something is bountiful it should be used to a certain extent. You want to talk about a travesty of the oceans look no further than the Brits and their "proper" cod fish and chips. 

Did you look this up? I'm guessing not. That's because Japanese do hunt and kill endgangered species some allegedy "by accidnet" in their fishing nets.

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan