‘A way of life’: Japan’s whalers back treaty withdrawal 1 SHARES Share it! Japan sparked outrage in December when it decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission, saying it would return to commercial whaling as part of its cultural heritage. Masaki, 32, a processing factory worker for Gaibo Hogei, admits that the local whaling industry has shrunk but says it is still an “indispensable” part of the town — especially during the summer whaling season. “I even don’t know the difference between research whaling and commercial whaling,” she laughed. But consumption has declined significantly in recent decades, with much of the population saying they rarely or never eat whale meat.

Source: Manila Bulletin January 31, 2019 03:22 UTC