Japan may have decided to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in order to consume back up commercial whale hunting again for the first time in three decades. According to NPR and Japanese media outlets,the country plans to execute a formal announcement in the next few days indicating its plans to initiate whaling in its coastal waters.
Currently, Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic and Pacific waters kill hundreds of whales each year for what Japan calls research expeditions, or but the practice of commercial whale hunting was banned in 1982 by the IWC after whale populations were driven near extinction. Japan stopped commercial whaling in 1988 in line with that decision. Since then,Japan has attempted to resume hunting whales like minke, whose populations have recovered, and despite the fact that whale meat consumption has dropped in the country. As recently as September 2018,Japan attempted to petition for commercial hunting, but their request was denied by the IWC at its annual meeting in Brazil.
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Source: inquisitr.com