On May 9, Japanese officials, including Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, announced in a press conference that Japan plans to include the fin whale in its commercial whaling list.
This news quickly sparked a wave of opposition from multiple countries around the world.
In his interview, Hayashi openly stated that this move is intended to preserve Japan's traditional culinary culture.
Since Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) five years ago, it has resumed the hunting of marine mammals despite ongoing international opposition.
The fin whale is the second largest baleen whale on Earth, and its population is already limited.
Coupled with last year's controversial release of radioactive wastewater from Fukushima into the ocean, further hunting of such large marine animals exacerbates the destruction of the marine ecosystem.
Reasons Behind Japan's Whaling Practices
Hayashi pointed out that whaling is indeed a tradition in Japan, with a long history. As an island nation with scarce resources and limited arable land, Japan's fishing industry has been highly developed since ancient times.
Whaling, especially after World War II, became a crucial survival mechanism due to severe food shortages. In 1962, the consumption of whale meat in Japan reached its peak at 230,000 tons.
With the increase in global food production, the so-called food crisis gradually dissipated. Nevertheless, Japan did not exit the whaling stage but continued under the guise of a "special sentiment for whales."
With the advancement of Japan's shipbuilding industry and various technologies, whaling efficiency greatly improved, creating a complete industrial chain for whaling in Japan.
Economic Motives Behind Whaling
Even today, with diverse sources of protein readily available, many Japanese people maintain the habit of eating whale meat, especially in some schools where whale meat remains a primary protein source.
However, there is significant opposition within Japan as well. Modern science has revealed that whale meat contains many harmful substances, especially toxic mercury, which temporarily limited Japan's whaling activities.
Nonetheless, whale meat did not disappear from Japanese dining tables, as whales from the Antarctic region, far from human activities, have relatively fewer toxins in their bodies.
Consequently, Japanese whaling ships travel to the Antarctic to hunt these giant whales.
Japan's so-called whaling culture has been passed down, with some regions even hosting whale meat festivals.
Legal and International Pressure
In March 2014, Australia won a lawsuit against Japan's illegal whaling, revealing Japan's deception.
The International Whaling Commission (IWC) allows whaling for scientific research, but Japan exploited this provision to conduct large-scale hunting under the guise of research.
An international judge questioned Japan about the necessity of annually killing 850 minke whales, 50 fin whales, and 50 humpback whales for research.
Data showed that between 2005 and 2014, Japan killed approximately 3,600 minke whales in the name of science, while only publishing two academic papers on whale anatomy.
After losing the lawsuit, Japan ceased whaling in the Antarctic but continued in other regions.
The primary driver behind Japan's whaling obsession is economic.
With Japan's economy experiencing "the lost decades," the collapse of the whaling industry would lead to massive unemployment, affecting not just fishermen but also those involved in whale processing and transportation, posing a significant burden on the Japanese government. Additionally, the whaling industry generates substantial tax revenue for the government.
Japan's Continued Whaling Activities
In 2019, Japan withdrew from the IWC and resumed commercial whaling, dropping the pretense of scientific research.
Now, by including fin whales in its commercial hunting list, Japan's profit-driven motives are fully exposed.
To stimulate demand for whale meat, Japan even announced a 5.1 billion yen subsidy for schools to purchase whale meat.
Despite stagnating whale meat consumption in Japan, ceasing whaling would create more significant pressures for the government.
Japan claims its surveys found abundant resources in the North Pacific, asserting that hunting fin whales does not impact the ecosystem. However, is this true?
Survival Crisis of Fin Whales
Fin whales, second only to blue whales in size, can weigh over a hundred tons. Despite their massive size, fin whales have poor vision and long reproductive cycles.
Typically, fin whales take 8 to 12 years to reach sexual maturity, and adult females have a lengthy reproductive cycle of two to three years, usually bearing only one calf with a gestation period of nearly a year and a nursing period of over six months.
The 20th century was disastrous for fin whales, with over 300,000 killed in the Southern Hemisphere alone, reducing their numbers to fewer than 5,000 by the 1970s.
Environmental awareness allowed their populations to slowly recover, but they remain scarce, and international society has banned fin whale hunting.
Nevertheless, numerous fin whales die annually due to human activities, including collisions with fishing vessels or being killed by propellers and fishing gear.
This contradicts Japan's claim that hunting fin whales does not impact the ecosystem.
Japan's persistence in whaling, particularly targeting endangered species like fin whales, continues to draw significant international criticism and raises concerns about the long-term health of marine ecosystems.
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