Its aging whaling mothership is in need of a costly

Japan to resume commercial whale hunting despite international outcry

“From July 2019, after the withdrawal comes into effect on June 30, Japan will conduct commercial whaling within Japan’s territorial sea and its exclusive economic zone, and will cease the take of whales in the Antarctic Ocean/the Southern Hemisphere,” Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said in a statement announcing the decision.

Canada Goose online “The whaling will be conducted in accordance with international law and within the catch limits calculated in accordance with the method adopted by the IWC to avoid negative impact on cetacean resources,” Suga cheap canada goose jackets uk said. Canada Goose online

Japan, which says canada goose factory outlet most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is part of its culture, has long campaigned without success for the IWC to allow commercial whaling.

Some influential lawmakers’ constituencies include whaling communities, and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s election district is home to the whaling port of Shimonoseki.

canada goose store The decision to withdraw from the IWC followed its latest rejection of Japan’s bid to resume commercial whaling at a September meeting, which Suga said showed it was impossible to bridge the gap between whaling advocates and anti whaling members. canada goose store

The canada goose outlet nyc resumption of commercial whaling is an unusual decision for Japan, which stresses multilateralism in its diplomacy, and it sparked swift criticism from environmental groups and others who believe all whales should be protected.

‘Wrong direction’ “It’s a frightening prospect. at a time when we need more international co operation on conservation, especially of species that go across international boundaries,” Humane Society International spokesperson Mark Simmonds told CBC News. “Japan is going in entirely the wrong direction.”

Canada Goose Outlet Yoshie Nakatani, an official at the Foreign Ministry’s fisheries canada goose outlet online store review division, said Japan would still attend IWC meetings. Canada Goose Outlet

A minke canada goose hybridge uk whale is unloaded canada goose outlet at a port after a whaling for canada goose and black friday scientific purposes in Kushiro, in the northernmost main cheap canada goose bodywarmer island of Hokkaido, Japan, in September 2013. (Kyodo News via Associated Press)

canada goose clearance sale “It’s not like we are turning our back on the IWC and abandoning international co operation,” she said. “There is no change to our country’s respect for the rule of law and multilateralism.” canada goose clearance sale

uk canada goose Paul Watson, an activist with buy canada goose jacket cheap the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, said other whaling nations could follow Japan and quit the IWC. uk canada goose

canada goose uk outlet “If Japan’s out. I think Norway and Iceland will withdraw also,” he told CBC News. canada goose uk outlet

New Zealand Foreign Minister Winston Peters welcomed Japan’s decision to halt Antarctic whaling, but said he was disappointed with the decision canada goose lodge uk to resume any commercial whaling.

Canada Goose Jackets “Whaling is an outdated and unnecessary practice. We continue to hope Japan eventually reconsiders its position and will cease all whaling in order to advance the protection of the ocean’s ecosystems,” Peters said in a statement. Canada Goose Jackets

Australia urged Japan to return to the IWC.

canada goose factory sale “Australia remains resolutely opposed to all forms of commercial and so called ‘scientific’ whaling,” its environment minister, Melissa Price, and Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in a statement. canada goose factory sale

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

In 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, but resumed hunting in the 2015 2016 season, capping its Antarctic catch with a quota of 333 whales annually.

Japan began scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium began. Its aging whaling mothership is in need of a costly replacement or refit.

Much of the meat ends up in shops, even though most Japanese no longer eat it. Whale consumption accounted for 0.1 per cent of all Japanese meat consumption, according to the Asahi newspaper.

canada goose black friday sale “But canada goose kensington uk https://www.outletcanadagoose.biz if we don’t explain internationally that whales are increasing. people won’t understand.” canada goose black friday sale

The ever dwindling demand means an uncertain outlook for Japan’s whaling.

canadian goose jacket “It could persist as a small scale activity. There are still whale meat restaurants and I think some people will keep eating a small quantity,” said Yoichiro Sato, a professor at Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University canadian goose jacket.