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Japan
This Week in AsiaLifestyle & Culture

Many Japanese aren’t a fan of whale meat. So why expand the hunt?

  • Japan plans to start hunting fin whales commercially, despite a distinct lack of appetite for the heavily subsidised industry’s existing catch
  • Even whaling enthusiasts admit that for a lot of Japanese ‘it’s not about food’ – but rather an intense dislike of being told what to do

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A Japanese chef holds whale meat at a restaurant in Tokyo. Annual consumption of whale meat in Japan peaked more than half a century ago. Photo: AFP
Julian Ryall
The last time Ken Kato ate whale meat was around 30 years ago – and he did not enjoy the experience. He knows it contains high concentrations of mercury and other toxic heavy metals, and that Japan’s whaling industry has long been subsidised using taxpayers’ money.

Yet he insists that the hunt is a vital part of Japan’s culinary history and culture, and must go on regardless of other nations’ objections.

“Many Japanese people feel this criticism is a kind of racism towards Japan,” said Kato, a businessman from Tokyo.

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Japan quit the International Whaling Commission in December 2018, returning to commercial hunting of minke, Bryde’s and sei whales soon afterwards. Last year’s quota of 379 whales, set by the Fisheries Agency, was only partially filled.

The agency reignited debate over Japan’s whaling industry when it announced plans on May 9 to add fin whales – the second-largest animal on Earth – to its commercial hunting list. It is accepting public comments until June 6, with a decision expected in July, but “the process is pro forma, with little doubt about the final decision,” according to Patrick Ramage, senior director of the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

A whale raises its tail above the water as it dives near Hokkaido in 2019. Japan plans to add fin whales to its commercial hunting list. Photo: Reuters
A whale raises its tail above the water as it dives near Hokkaido in 2019. Japan plans to add fin whales to its commercial hunting list. Photo: Reuters

“This is a misguided policy in search of a product in search of a market,” he told This Week in Asia, pointing to the lack of demand for whale meat.

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