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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/26/japan-confirms-it-will-quit-iwc-to-resume-commercial-whaling
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| Japan confirms it will quit IWC to resume commercial whaling | Japan confirms it will quit IWC to resume commercial whaling |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Japan is to leave the International Whaling Commission and resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 30 years, the government said on Wednesday, in a move that has drawn international criticism. | Japan is to leave the International Whaling Commission and resume commercial whaling for the first time in more than 30 years, the government said on Wednesday, in a move that has drawn international criticism. |
| The country’s fleet will resume commercial operations in July next 2019, the government’s chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said of the decision to defy 1986 global ban on commercial whaling. | The country’s fleet will resume commercial operations in July next 2019, the government’s chief spokesman, Yoshihide Suga, said of the decision to defy 1986 global ban on commercial whaling. |
| Australia urges Japan to remain in IWC after its bid to lift whaling ban rejected | Australia urges Japan to remain in IWC after its bid to lift whaling ban rejected |
| Suga told reporters the country’s fleet would confine its hunts to Japanese territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, adding that its controversial expeditions to the Southern Ocean – a major source of diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Canberra – would end. | Suga told reporters the country’s fleet would confine its hunts to Japanese territorial waters and exclusive economic zone, adding that its controversial expeditions to the Southern Ocean – a major source of diplomatic friction between Tokyo and Canberra – would end. |
| He said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by 30 June. | He said Japan would officially inform the IWC of its decision by the end of the year, which will mean the withdrawal comes into effect by 30 June. |
| Media reports last week that Japan was about to pull out of the 89-member commission sparked an angry reaction from the Australian government and conservationists, who warned that Japan was taking the path of a “pirate whaling nation”. | Media reports last week that Japan was about to pull out of the 89-member commission sparked an angry reaction from the Australian government and conservationists, who warned that Japan was taking the path of a “pirate whaling nation”. |
| The Australian Marine Conservation Society said on Wednesday a decision to halt the Antarctic hunt would be “welcome and long overdue”, and its chief executive, Darren Kindleysides, called on the Australian government to demand the Japanese fleet left immediately rather than at the end of its normal hunting season in February or March. | |
| “Australians have been fighting for decades to get the whalers out of the Antarctic,” Kindleysides said. “However, it would be a bittersweet victory if it comes with unchecked commercial whaling by Japan in their own waters, and their leaving could damage the future of the IWC itself.” | |
| Wednesday’s announcement had been widely expected after Japan recently failed to win IWC support for a proposal to change the decision-making process – a move that would have made it easier for Japan to secure enough votes to end the commercial whaling ban, which went into effect in 1986 to protect dwindling whale stocks. | Wednesday’s announcement had been widely expected after Japan recently failed to win IWC support for a proposal to change the decision-making process – a move that would have made it easier for Japan to secure enough votes to end the commercial whaling ban, which went into effect in 1986 to protect dwindling whale stocks. |
| Japan argues that the moratorium was supposed to be a temporary measure and accused a “dysfunctional” IWC of abandoning its original purpose – managing the sustainable use of global whale stocks. | Japan argues that the moratorium was supposed to be a temporary measure and accused a “dysfunctional” IWC of abandoning its original purpose – managing the sustainable use of global whale stocks. |
| “I support a government decision” to withdraw, Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister who advises the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on fisheries, told public broadcaster NHK. “I have attended IWC meetings several times in the past, and I was struck by their extremely biased views. The IWC has become a dysfunctional organization.” | “I support a government decision” to withdraw, Itsunori Onodera, a former defence minister who advises the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on fisheries, told public broadcaster NHK. “I have attended IWC meetings several times in the past, and I was struck by their extremely biased views. The IWC has become a dysfunctional organization.” |
| Officials in Tokyo claim that populations of certain types of whale – such as the minke – have recovered sufficiently to allow the resumption of “sustainable” hunting. | Officials in Tokyo claim that populations of certain types of whale – such as the minke – have recovered sufficiently to allow the resumption of “sustainable” hunting. |
| Japan has used a loophole in the ban to hunt a certain number of whales for what it claims is scientific research. Byproduct from the hunts is sold on the domestic market, although Japan’s appetite for whale meat has declined dramatically since the postwar years, when it was an important source of protein. | Japan has used a loophole in the ban to hunt a certain number of whales for what it claims is scientific research. Byproduct from the hunts is sold on the domestic market, although Japan’s appetite for whale meat has declined dramatically since the postwar years, when it was an important source of protein. |
| The country ate 200,000 tons of whale meat a year in the 1960s, but consumption has plummeted to about 5,000 tons in recent years, according to government data. | The country ate 200,000 tons of whale meat a year in the 1960s, but consumption has plummeted to about 5,000 tons in recent years, according to government data. |
| Japan will join Iceland and Norway in openly defying the ban on commercial whale hunting. | Japan will join Iceland and Norway in openly defying the ban on commercial whale hunting. |
| Whaling | Whaling |
| Japan | Japan |
| Animals | Animals |
| Conservation | Conservation |
| Wildlife | Wildlife |
| Whales | Whales |
| Marine life | Marine life |
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