Osaka festival strives to rekindle interest in whale meat

With Japanese harpooners in the midst of their annual minke whale hunt in Antarctic waters, a department store chain in Osaka on Thursday began clearing out a three-ton supply of whale meat.

It's the annual Hanshin Whale Festival, a celebration of whale  meat as a long-cherished staple, with flesh from fin whales, minke whales, humpback whales and sperm whales selling at half-price.

"This is about preserving Japan's food culture," Atsushi Yoshida, a Hanshin spokesman, told the Japan Times.

The whales were killed in the Northwestern Atlantic on government-sponsored scientific hunting missions, which are controversial. Japan uses a lethal research loophole in the wording of an International Whaling Commission ban on commercial whaling to conduct its hunts.

Meat from the hunts is sold commercially throughout the country.

The Japan Times reported that the majority of customers at the whale festival -- the first 100 on Thursday were served a free portion of whale-skin stew -- were seniors.

One section of the festival is titled, "A Whale's Body is Indeed a Theme Park!" It features, among other whale parts, tongue, intestines and tail served as sashimi.

-- Pete Thomas

Image of humpback whale fluke by ©Pete Thomas

Comments

[vince]

I wouldn't call it a long cherished staple, as it only became a staple after WW2. Before that whales were hunted for oil / blubber etc.

As for the "Scientific Whaling":

The Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the Antarctic (JARPAII) includes 50 Fin whales (Endangered ESA & IUCN) and 50 Humpback whales (Endangered ESA & vulnerable IUCN) and of course hundreds upon hundreds of Minke whales ("The cockroaches of the sea" said a Japanese official).

Even though they have a special permit for 50 Humpbacks, they seem to be leaving these alone (although this may be hard to prove) for the purposes of political bargaining.

The Japanese Whale Research Program under Special Permit in the North Pacific (JARPNII) deserves a special mention here because it is the hunt that is not as well known as JARPAII. The North Pacific

hunt consists of a much larger variety of endangered whales. They include:

- Sei
- Bryde's
- Sperm

Along with a large haul of "common minke" whales.

So it really does look like important science is being undertaken (NOT) when they are plucking endangered whales out of the oceans - the same whales struggling to get back to pre-whaling industry numbers which face even more challenges these days due to pollution, shipping ( & ship strikes), sonar tests (noise pollution, some of which can be lethal), loss of breeding grounds, climate change and loss of food sources (humans taking krill now too). And lastly, these science expeditions seemingly keep increasing their quotas of "samples needed" as Japan is longing for the day when they can begin full commerical whaling and until that day, they will continue to commercially whale under JARPAII and JARPNII.

Importing whale meat from Iceland? Wow direct breach of CITIES. So Iceland hunts endangered whales too.

[Ole Heinrich]

"The whales were killed in the Northwestern Atlantic on government-sponsored scientific hunting missions, which are controversial." This is wrong. They are imported from Iceland, caught by Icelandic whalers from icelandic whaling and fishing boats, from its commercial and sustainable whaling.

[F. Delacroix]

Sounds like fun!

[whiplash]

Desparate measures by desperate people.

Historically, Japan has always violated whaling regulations such as size limits, species limits, gender limits, seasonal limits, sanctuary boundaries, and even supported “pirate whaling” (killing whales in secret around the world through front companies with foreign labor to smuggle meat back to Japan without reporting to the IWC). They also do this with Blue Fin Tuna.

Does any of this look like important legal science? Does it really look like Japan is honoring international conventions in good faith?

[sidewinder]

Japan is an international disgrace - driving whales and tuna to extinction.