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

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.

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.

“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.

Annual consumption of whale meat peaked in 1962, at around 233,000 tonnes, but has fallen to 3,000 tonnes or less in recent years as the industry has been propped up by heavy government subsidies.

During the decades when Japan was a member of the International Whaling Commission, it exploited a loophole in the regulations to continue hunting the mammals for “scientific research”. But demand was so limited that much of what was caught was served as school lunches in whaling communities, used as pet food, or left in cold storage.

In 2019, Japan’s government paid around 5.1 billion yen in subsidies to the whaling industry, but this support has since been converted to a loan that reportedly amounted to some 340 million yen (US$2.2 million) in 2022.

The government has not explained the rationale for reducing subsidies, but the move likely reflects the economic challenges facing Japan, such as high debt and competing