Japan to leave IWC, resume commercial whaling in July
TOKYO. KAZINFORM Japan will withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in 2019 to resume commercial whaling next July after a three-decade hiatus, the government said Wednesday, drawing immediate criticism from anti-whaling nations and groups, Kyodo reported.
Following the withdrawal, Japan plans to hunt whales in nearby waters and within its exclusive economic zone but not in the Antarctic Ocean, where the country has carried out so-called "scientific whaling" for what it says are research purposes.
An annual IWC meeting in September "unveiled the fact that it is not possible in the IWC even to seek the coexistence of states with different views. Consequently, Japan has been led to make its decision," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said at a press conference. Japan's proposal to resume commercial whaling was rejected then.The announcement came months after Tokyo threatened to leave the international organization that has long been deeply divided between pro- and anti-whaling nations and others that support one side or the other.
It is rare for Japan to leave an international organization but the country took issue with the IWC's failure to fulfill the "dual mandate" of promoting whale conservation and pursuing the development of the whaling industry.
Under IWC rules, Japan's withdrawal is expected to become effective on June 30 following notification to the commission by Jan. 1.