Right: processing whale meat. Opponents of Japan's whale hunt point out that an enormous surplus of meat remains frozen in warehouses and that there is no real demand for a constant supply of fresh product.
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Background information
(The information below is abbreviated from a Wikipedia entry titled 'Whaling in Japan'. The full text can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whaling_in_Japan)
Historical origins of Japanese whaling
Japan Whaling Association estimates Japanese whaling to have begun around the 12th century. However, Japanese whaling on an industrial scale began around the 1890s when Japan began to participate in the modern whaling industry, at that time an industry in which many countries participated. Japanese whaling activities have historically extended far outside Japanese territorial waters, even into whale sanctuaries protected by other countries.
Contemporary Japanese whaling
During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling. This continued until the International Whaling Commission (IWC) moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986. Japan continued to hunt whales using the scientific research provision in the agreement, and Japanese whaling is currently conducted by the Institute of Cetacean Research. This was allowed under IWC rules, although most IWC members oppose it.
Prohibition of Japan's supposed 'scientific' whaling
In March 2014 the U.N.'s International Court of Justice ruled that the Japanese whaling program, called "JARPA II", in the Southern Ocean, including inside the Australian Whale Sanctuary, was not in accordance with the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, and was not for scientific purposes, as it had claimed.
International Court of Justice ordered Japan to cease operations.
Despite the court order, Prime Minister Abe quickly called for the resumption of whaling operations. In December 2015, Japan went ahead with their whaling program, renamed "NEWREP-A".
On January 15, 2017, a helicopter in the Australian Whale Sanctuary photographed the Japanese whaling vessel Nishin Maru with a freshly-killed Minke whale on its deck. Crew members quickly covered the carcass after seeing the helicopter. Their objective is to hunt 3,000 Antarctic minke whales over 10 years, starting with 330 whales during the 2015-16 season.
Disputes with the International Court of Justice and the International Whaling Commission (IWC)
These hunts are a source of conflict between pro- and anti-whaling countries and organizations. The U.N.'s International Court of Justice, in addition to other nations, scientists, and environmental organizations consider the Japanese research program to be unnecessary and lacking scientific merit, and describe it as a thinly disguised commercial whaling operation.
Japan maintains that annual whaling is sustainable and necessary for scientific study and management of whale stocks, though the Antarctic minke whale populations have declined since the beginning of the JARPA program and those whales killed have shown increasing signs of stress.
Japan also argues they should be able to continue whaling because they have killed whales in the past. A poll in 2014 found that few Japanese people today eat whale meat regularly, and tourists are often reluctant to try it on ethical grounds.
Following the temporary cessation of its activities in the Southern Ocean during 2014, Japan announced a research plan for the "New Scientific Whale Research Program in the Antarctic Ocean" in late November 2014, as a replacement of previous programs. In March 2014, the ICJ ruled that the new program's predecessor was "not for the purposes of scientific research".
The replacement "NEWREP-A" plan, scheduled to commence in December 2015, covers a larger area of the Southern Ocean around the Antarctic, and 3,996 whales will be targeted over 12 years, which is fewer than in previous seasons.
The plan was submitted to the IWC and its scientific commission, but approval is not required from either for Japan to proceed.
In early October 2015, Japan's ambassador to the UN, Motohide Yoshikawa, announced that Japan does not accept the court's jurisdiction over research, conservation, or exploitation of marine life and would proceed with NEWREP-A, without waiting for the court's approval. On 1 December 2015 Japan sent a fleet to the Antarctic Ocean with the aim of catching 330 minke whales. The fleet included the ship the Nisshin Maru and three smaller boats. The move was met with objections from the Australian and New Zealand governments.