“Whether pursued on the high seas under the pretext of science or in coastal waters in pursuit of profit, Japan’s commercial whaling is an economic loser, kept afloat only by government subsidies.”Ramage believes the future of Japan’s ageing whaling towns rests on embracing ecotourism. “Why shouldn’t we eat whale meat?” says Shoji. Japan’s commercial whaling industry would grind to a halt without government subsidies of ¥5.1bn (£.033bn) a year, says Junko Sakuma, a freelance journalist and expert on Japan’s whaling economy. Japanese whaling will continue, but in a much smaller form.”Paradoxically, the end of “scientific” whaling and the Japanese fleet’s annual clashes with the anti-whaling organisation Sea Shepherd may be hastening whaling’s decline. “In the past, Japanese people were defensive because they didn’t like white people telling them not to eat whale meat,” Sakuma says.

Source: The Guardian December 26, 2021 07:34 UTC