Abstract

Japan’s recent decision to leave the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and resume commercial whaling [1] will have significant ramifications for that nation, as well as for international relations and whale populations in both the North Pacific and Southern Ocean. Here, I draw on my long experience as a member of the Molvanian delegation to the IWC to briefly review the background to this issue, and offer some predictions regarding potential outcomes, including for the future of Japanese whale research. After World War 2, Japan was one of fifteen nations to sign the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling [2]. Japanese whalers have operated widely in the Antarctic and North Pacific, as well as from shore-based whaling stations on the Japanese coast. The primary product has always been whale meat, with hunting continuing to the present day despite a diminishing domestic demand.