Japan plans to add another species of whale to its commercial hunting list, having resumed the activity in 2019 after a hiatus of more than three decades, the government's top government spokesman said Thursday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi said the Fisheries Agency has been collecting opinions from the public since Tuesday regarding its plan to begin hunting fin whales, despite criticism from anti-whaling countries and conservation groups.
Japan has long sought an understanding of its policy, seen as necessary to preserve its whaling tradition in regional areas, saying it is committed to "international cooperation for the proper management of marine living resources."
So far, Japan has caught three species of whale -- Bryde's, minke, and sei. At a regular press conference, Hayashi said the agency will implement the project in an appropriate manner after receiving public comments until early next month.
Japan, a maritime nation, restarted commercial whaling within its territorial waters and exclusive economic zone on July 1, 2019, for commercial purposes, a day after formally withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission.
As an IWC member, Japan halted commercial whaling in 1988. But the Asian country continued catching whales under the guise of doing so for research purposes, a practice criticized internationally as a cover for commercial whaling.
