Japan to announce withdrawal from International Whaling Commission on Wednesday - media

[webfact]

Japan to announce withdrawal from International Whaling Commission on Wednesday - media

 

FILE PHOTO: A worker sprays water on a Baird's Beaked whale before butchering it, as shadows of a crowd of grade school students and residents are cast on the ground, at Wada port in Minamiboso, southeast of Tokyo, June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Issei Kato/File Photo

 

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan on Wednesday will announce its decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in a bid to resume commercial whaling, Japanese media said.

 

The Sankei newspaper said the decision was made at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday after the government decided it would be difficult to resume commercial whaling while a member of the international body.

 

The IWC in September again rejected Tokyo's request to resume commercial whaling.

 

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday declined comment on the expected decision.

 

Japan has defied international protests to conduct what it calls scientific research whaling, having repeatedly said its ultimate goal is to whale commercially again.

 

In 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan should halt Antarctic whaling.

 

Japan suspended its hunt for one season to re-tool its whaling programme with measures such as cutting the number of whales and species targeted, but resumed hunting in the 2015-2016 season. It caps its Antarctic catch with a quota of 333 whales annually.

 

Japan has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is part of its culture. It began scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium began.

 

The meat ends up on store shelves, even though most Japanese no longer eat it. Whale consumption accounted for 0.1 percent of all Japanese meat consumption, according to the Asahi newspaper.

 

Japanese media said that Japan could no longer take advantage of the IWC exemption for scientific whaling if it withdrew from the group because the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas requires its signatories, including Japan, to work through "the appropriate international organizations" for marine mammal conservation.

 

Japan has also continued to hunt smaller species of whales that are not covered by the IWC in its coastal waters.

 

(reporting by Linda Sieg and Kaori Kaneko; editing by Darren Schuettler)

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2018-12-26

 

[Bluespunk]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

Japan on Wednesday will announce its decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in a bid to resume commercial whaling, Japanese media said.

Scum. 

[PJPom]

We get so emotional about Whales, the furore caused by the death of these creatures is totally disproportionate. 

Hunting of Whales for food has long been part of the lifestyles of many cultures and now that the wholesale slaughter for purposes other than food has been stopped the Whales have become a sustainable entity.

Japan has every right to hunt Whales for food within reasonable limits though the uproar will be deafening.

I wonder how the Vegans will react ?.

[giddyup]

The meat ends up on store shelves, even though most Japanese no longer eat it. Whale consumption accounted for 0.1 percent of all Japanese meat consumption, according to the Asahi newspaper.

 

 Then where is the demand?

[ronrat]

The "historic" hunting of whales by the Japanese is largely BS. They began eating them after WW11 because they could not get protein easily from other sources. The Australian and Kiwis were not going to send beef to Japan when Britain was crying out for it.

 

Scandanavia aside much of thw whaling done in previous centuries was done for the oil for lamps. Some smaller nations like those in the pacific would kill maybe one whale a year which became a feast for the whole village and the whales teeth became a status symbol.

 

If it constitutes 0.1 percent of their meat products it can easily be replaced.

 

I took some Japanese students who were staying with my parents as part of Lions International whale watching off Hervey Bay in Australia. A deckhand was part time Greenpeace warrior and spoke Japanese. When he explained to them that some may be harpooned by the Japanese as a bogus research plan to eat them they were in shock. They signed up on the spot and in Japanese told the deckie they would go back to Japan and tell everyone they could.

 

The Japanese can have the ones beached and that should satisfy whoever it is that are still eating them.

[Pedrogaz]

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Japan is not obliged to pander to the rest of the world. If it withdraws from the IWC then so be it.....they are not breaking any laws, they are merely not bowing to the ever-changing whims of the west.

[rudi49jr]

22 minutes ago, Pedrogaz said:

I don't know what all the fuss is about. Japan is not obliged to pander to the rest of the world. If it withdraws from the IWC then so be it.....they are not breaking any laws, they are merely not bowing to the ever-changing whims of the west.

Yeah, let's all just do whatever we bloody well want. So what if Brazil and Congo cut down all the rain forest? So what if hunters kill the last tigers in the wild? So what if Trump decides American industries can start polluting again to their heart's content? We will live life to the fullest, and the hell with our children and grandchildren, right?

Edited December 26, 2018 by rudi49jr

[Baerboxer]

3 hours ago, PJPom said:

We get so emotional about Whales, the furore caused by the death of these creatures is totally disproportionate. 

Hunting of Whales for food has long been part of the lifestyles of many cultures and now that the wholesale slaughter for purposes other than food has been stopped the Whales have become a sustainable entity.

Japan has every right to hunt Whales for food within reasonable limits though the uproar will be deafening.

I wonder how the Vegans will react ?.

 

Yeah right. Just like those brave hunters culling those ferocious seal pups so some rich hag can wear fur; or those poachers risking their lives to kill elephants and rhinos some some old Chinese fart can take his aphrodisiac. Been going on for years and part of those degenerates live style.

 

And let's not forget the Head Hunters and Cannibals. Let them follow their centuries old practices eh?

 

Darwin Award for 2018 goes to ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[holy cow cm]

Not good. 

[Justin Side]

Horrible nasty people from a horrible nasty country.

[HiSoLowSoNoSo]

Very sad, thought they were more intelligent.

[toolpush]

2 hours ago, rudi49jr said:

Yeah, let's all just do whatever we bloody well want. So what if Brazil and Congo cut down all the rain forest? So what if hunters kill the last tigers in the wild? So what if Trump decides American industries can start polluting again to their heart's content? We will live life to the fullest, and the hell with our children and grandchildren, right?

Suffering from a severe case of TDS, are you?

[farcanell]

1 hour ago, toolpush said:

Suffering from a severe case of TDS, are you?

Lol..... 

 

meanwhile.... japan said “what would donal do?”

 

the answer... withdraw from the deal... middle finger raised... what are they going to do? Right? (of course, they said it in Japanese, but as this is an English forum, I went ahead and translated it for y’all)

 

all the deals are burning down, burning down, burning down

all the deals are burning down, burning down

my fair lady

 

[Kiwiken]

Do not worry they will not hunt whales in your back yards. Australia and New Zealand will have to deal with it.

[from the home of CC]

Some people seem to be satisfying some innate primal urge to hunt like caveman, while others are just in it for the money. It'll never stop till all wildlife is dead, it's just a matter of time for greed is infinite. 

[Cereal]

6 hours ago, ronrat said:

The "historic" hunting of whales by the Japanese is largely BS. They began eating them after WW11 because they could not get protein easily from other sources. The Australian and Kiwis were not going to send beef to Japan when Britain was crying out for it.

 

Scandanavia aside much of thw whaling done in previous centuries was done for the oil for lamps. Some smaller nations like those in the pacific would kill maybe one whale a year which became a feast for the whole village and the whales teeth became a status symbol.

 

If it constitutes 0.1 percent of their meat products it can easily be replaced.

 

I took some Japanese students who were staying with my parents as part of Lions International whale watching off Hervey Bay in Australia. A deckhand was part time Greenpeace warrior and spoke Japanese. When he explained to them that some may be harpooned by the Japanese as a bogus research plan to eat them they were in shock. They signed up on the spot and in Japanese told the deckie they would go back to Japan and tell everyone they could.

 

The Japanese can have the ones beached and that should satisfy whoever it is that are still eating them.

WW11....man, how long have I been asleep?

[ivor bigun]

When i was young they used to fry fish and chips in whale oil ,delicious they were.

 

Sent from my SM-A720F using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

 

 

 

[Kieran00001]

8 hours ago, PJPom said:

We get so emotional about Whales, the furore caused by the death of these creatures is totally disproportionate. 

Hunting of Whales for food has long been part of the lifestyles of many cultures and now that the wholesale slaughter for purposes other than food has been stopped the Whales have become a sustainable entity.

Japan has every right to hunt Whales for food within reasonable limits though the uproar will be deafening.

I wonder how the Vegans will react ?.

 

An example for you, the blue whale numbered over 300,000 a hundred years ago until unregulated hunting killed 99% of them, now with the strict laws banning whaling the numbers have increased to between 5000 and 25000, so at best less than 10% of their original number. Another is the fin whale, which numbered over 200,000 but now is reduced to about 3000 and shows no sign of recovery, and you want us to believe that there is no longer a reason to protect them as that is "sustainable".

 

And Japan was already hunting whales "within reasonable limits", hundreds per year, and also some unreasonable ones, such as the 50 whales they were caught out illegally taking from the Antartic protected area.  The ICC hasn't banned all species, but Japan want to hunt more, including the species that are totally banned, and you support that, what a big guy you are.

 

 

 

 

 

[PJPom]

1 hour ago, Kieran00001 said:

 

An example for you, the blue whale numbered over 300,000 a hundred years ago until unregulated hunting killed 99% of them, now with the strict laws banning whaling the numbers have increased to between 5000 and 25000, so at best less than 10% of their original number. Another is the fin whale, which numbered over 200,000 but now is reduced to about 3000 and shows no sign of recovery, and you want us to believe that there is no longer a reason to protect them as that is "sustainable".

 

And Japan was already hunting whales "within reasonable limits", hundreds per year, and also some unreasonable ones, such as the 50 whales they were caught out illegally taking from the Antartic protected area.  The ICC hasn't banned all species, but Japan want to hunt more, including the species that are totally banned, and you support that, what a big guy you are.

 

 

 

 

 

To correct your figures, 60 years ago the blue whale was nearly extinct due to unregulated slaughter by the America, UK , Canada , Norwegian and other Scandinavian countries plus Japan, the South American nations and Australia and New Zealand .

This slaughter nearly denuded the Antarctic and in the thirties the population was thought to be 20,000+ which then continued to drop until the fifties

The whaling restrictions only really came into force in the sixties with the IWC bringing in restrictions which luckily averted the extinction of a superb species.

The proposed renewal of hunting by Japan will only take place in the North Pacific with no hunts in Antarctica which will save the Australian govt sending a warship .

No doubt Greenpeace will be up in arms but if they do as they have said they will harvest at a sustainable level, we will wait and see.

As to your last comment, I was raised and educated to debate the idea, not the person.

Edited December 26, 2018 by PJPom
Afterthought

[Kieran00001]

1 minute ago, PJPom said:

To correct your figures, 80 years ago the blue whale was nearly extinct due to unregulated slaughter by the North Atlantic and North Pacific whaling fleets. America, UK , Canada , Norwegian and other Scandinavian countries plus Japan.

The Antarctic was mainly the province of the South American nations and Australia and New Zealand 

The whaling restrictions only really came into force in the sixties with the IWC bringing in restrictions which luckily averted the extinction of a superb species.

The proposed renewal of hunting by Japan will only take place in the North Pacific with no hunts in Antarctica which will save the Australian govt sending a warship .

No doubt Greenpeace will be up in arms but if they do as they have said they will harvest at a sustainable level, we will wait and see.

As to your last comment, I was raised to debate the idea, not the person.

 

You said you were going to correct my figures but then didn't, what happened, did you forget?

 

The proposed renewal of japanese whaling is going to see them change their current practice of illegally whaling in the antartic, and you bought that, really?  And where is the Australian warship now?  Why didn't they stop them taking the 300+ whales caught in the antartic last year?

 

Japan has a long history of lying to the international community about their whaling practices, you choose to believe them, up to you, but they are proven liers, just so you know.  But yes, wait and see, any reason you are not waiting to see but instead getting busy propagandising their agenda?

 

And debate what you like, I can't help it if I'm impressed by your big man stance on killing whales, its just so manly and big.

 

[farcanell]

5 hours ago, Kiwiken said:

Do not worry they will not hunt whales in your back yards. Australia and New Zealand will have to deal with it.

Apparently the announced intention is to stop whaling in the Antarctic region and international waters, instead concentrating their hunting operations to their own waters.... at least to start with, anyway.

 

[Opl]

9 hours ago, HiSoLowSoNoSo said:

Very sad, thought they were more intelligent.

To ban whaling would be to remove an entire section of the Japanese administration. The fishing agency depends on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and large subsidies, "5 billion yen [36 million euros]", are devoted each year to this activity; the "most influential politicians" come from fishing areas (such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who comes from Yamaguchi province where there is an important whaling port), therefore have no interest in whaling being prohibited.

The Japanese, especially the nationalist fringe, consider whaling as an important Japanese tradition.

It is also about not bowing to international pressure.

Norway and Iceland are still whaling too. 

Edited December 26, 2018 by Opl

[hotchilli]

14 hours ago, Justin Side said:

Horrible nasty people from a horrible nasty country.

I guess you don't like that nasty Sushi either ???

????

Edited December 27, 2018 by hotchilli

[Kieran00001]

6 hours ago, Opl said:

To ban whaling would be to remove an entire section of the Japanese administration. The fishing agency depends on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and large subsidies, "5 billion yen [36 million euros]", are devoted each year to this activity; the "most influential politicians" come from fishing areas (such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who comes from Yamaguchi province where there is an important whaling port), therefore have no interest in whaling being prohibited.

The Japanese, especially the nationalist fringe, consider whaling as an important Japanese tradition.

It is also about not bowing to international pressure.

Norway and Iceland are still whaling too. 

 

Norway and Iceland do traditional whaling like some Japanese still do, but that is not what this is about, so do stop confalating tribal rights with commercial enterprise, Japan stockpiles thousands of tons of whale meat, no one wants it, they give it away to schools.

[Kieran00001]

To those who actually bought their nonsense about planning to stop whaling in the antarctic, the whales from Japanese waters are far about the level of mercury that is safe to consume, and the Japanese know that, they prefer the antarctic whale meat as it is lower in mercury. 

[Kieran00001]

6 hours ago, Opl said:

To ban whaling would be to remove an entire section of the Japanese administration. The fishing agency depends on the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and large subsidies, "5 billion yen [36 million euros]", are devoted each year to this activity; the "most influential politicians" come from fishing areas (such as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who comes from Yamaguchi province where there is an important whaling port), therefore have no interest in whaling being prohibited.

The Japanese, especially the nationalist fringe, consider whaling as an important Japanese tradition.

It is also about not bowing to international pressure.

Norway and Iceland are still whaling too. 

 

60% of Japanese people want whaling banned.  The price of whale meat has fallen from 4000 yen to 1000 yen per KG in the past 20 years.   And despite producing less than 10% of the whale meat they did 40 years ago, they can't sell all that they currently catch and end up giving it away to schools.  Then there is the fact tha whales caught in Japanese waters are toxic, which makes them even less popular, its really only the antarctic whales that the Japanese are still buying the meat from, so where is this actually going?   They dont want it, wont pay for it and wont eat it, so what do they want to catch more for?

[rudi49jr]

23 hours ago, toolpush said:

Suffering from a severe case of TDS, are you?

Severe TDS? Yes, bigly! I have tremendous TDS, fantastic TDS, I have the best TDS!

[Skeptic7]

Dreadful news. Awful and disheartening decision by them Yeepoons. Time for the Sea Shepards and Rainbow Warriors to fire up their engines! ????