Japan announced this week it will be splitting from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in order to renew its commercial whaling practices. The announcement comes after years of Japan exploiting a loophole in IWC’s international moratorium on whale killings, and after the IWC declined to approve its bid for commercial whaling, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Japan announced this week it will be splitting from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in order to renew its commercial whaling practices. The announcement comes after years of Japan exploiting a loophole in IWC’s international moratorium on whale killings, and after the IWC declined to approve its bid for commercial whaling, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said Wednesday in a statement that the withdrawal would go into effect June 30,2019, with whaling resuming within its waters and its exclusive economic zone thereafter in July, according to Reuters. Suga said that Japan’s 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.
