Japan Plans to Kill Hundreds of Protected Whales This Winter

Anti-whaling groups are up in arms this weekend over Japan's plan to kill hundreds of protected minke whales for dubious "scientific" research purposes. The Japanese government's decision has prompted harsh rebukes from around the world, along with accusations that the nation is exploiting the research loophole in an effort to continue illegal whaling.

"Australia strongly opposes the decision by Japan to resuming whaling in the Southern Ocean this summer," Greg Hunt, Australia's environment minister, told reporters on Saturday. "It cannot unilaterally decide whether it has adequately addressed the scientific committee's questions."

This particular spat between Japanese whalers and ocean conservationists has been going on for decades. It began in the wake of the 1986 International Court of Justice (ICJ) commercial whaling ban, when Japan continued large-scale whale hunts on the grounds that they provided scientific insights.

The claim has been challenged in international courts ever since, culminating in a firm ruling from the ICJ on March 31, 2014 stating that the Japanese whaling program—called JARPA II—failed to meet the criteria to be protected as scientific research. Critics pointed out that JARPA II produced only two scientific papers, based on the remains of nine animals.

"In light of the fact the JARPA II has been going on since 2005, and has involved the killing of about 3,600 minke whales, the scientific output to date appears limited," said ICJ presiding judge Peter Tomka at the ruling. "Japan shall revoke any existent authorisation, permit, or licence granted in relation to JARPA II and refrain from granting any further permits in pursuance to the program."

This decision was considered final, with no room for appeals, especially since it is well-documented that the meat from these expeditions is sold commercially in Japan. But instead of backing down, the Japanese government switched tacks and introduced a new program called NEWREP-A that aims to kill 333 minke whales annually for the next 12 years, beginning this December.

Not only does the new plan fall back on the old excuse of whaling for scientific resources, it also has the cajones to try to disguise itself as a conservation project.

"In order to achieve conservation of its resources while pursuing their sustainable utilization and to understand and predict the effects of factors such as climate change," the NEWREP-A research plan reads, "it is scientifically imperative to obtain an accurate understanding of many aspects of the Antarctic marine ecosystem including its animals and their dynamics through collection, accumulation, and analysis of scientific data."

To make matters worse, among the regions targeted by Japanese whalers is the vast Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary, a 50-million-square kilometer expanse that was intentionally created to protect Antarctic whales from poachers. In addition to rebuking Japan for announcing its potential return to the sanctuary, many lawmakers and activists have already threatened legal action against any whalers found there.

"Any violation of the sanctity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary or the Australian Whale Sanctuary will be regarded as a criminal act," Alex Cornelissen, chief executive of the ocean conservation society Sea Shepherd, said in a statement. "We would like to remind the Japanese government that the whales of the Southern Ocean are protected by international law, by Australian law, and by Sea Shepherd."

It remains to be seen whether this mounting international pressure will be enough to coerce Japan into ceasing its whaling efforts, or if the situation will escalate into a battle for the minke whales in Antarctic waters next month. As many have already noted, allowing the Japanese government to ignore the ICJ ruling and international whaling laws would set a dangerous precedent for our already threatened ocean ecosystems.