Japan’s Fisheries Agency has proposed expanding commercial whaling to fin whales, a larger species than the three allowed now.
  • @EgoNo4@lemmy.worldEnglish
    24•9 months ago

    What the fuck is up with the Japanese and whaling? Do they eat that much whale meat? Or what?

    • @tal@lemmy.todayEnglish
      5•9 months ago

      I think that it’s been a thing for a while. Japan’s an island nation, and harvesting sea life has been important. Probably some people who want it just for tradition.

      kagis

      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_whaling

      The oldest written mention of whaling in Japanese records is from Kojiki, the oldest Japanese historical book, which was written in the 7th century CE. This book describes whale meat being eaten by Emperor Jimmu. In Man’yōshū, an anthology of poems from the 8th century CE, the word “Whaling” (いさなとり) was frequently used in depicting the ocean or beaches.

      One of the first records of whaling using harpoons is from the 1570s at Morosaki, a bay attached to Ise Bay. This method of whaling spread to Kii (before 1606), Shikoku (1624), northern Kyushu (1630s), and Nagato (around 1672).

      Kakuemon Wada, later known as Kakuemon Taiji, was said to have invented net whaling sometime between 1675 and 1677. This method soon spread to Shikoku (1681) and northern Kyushu (1684)

      Using the techniques developed by Taiji, the Japanese mainly hunted four species of whale: the North Pacific right, the humpback, the fin, and the gray whale. They also caught the occasional blue, sperm, or sei/Bryde’s whale .

      In 1853, the US naval officer Matthew Perry forced Japan to open up to foreign trade. One purpose of his mission was to gain access to ports for the American whaling fleet in the north-west Pacific Ocean. Japan’s traditional whaling was eventually replaced in the late 19th century and early 20th century with modern methods.

      https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/big-fish-history-whaling/

      People have been whaling for thousands of years. Norwegians were among the first to hunt whales, as early as 4,000 years ago. The Japanese may have been doing so even earlier.

    • Drusas
      4•9 months ago

      It’s often (but not always) available at supermarkets, but it’s not commonly eaten. Hopefully the tradition will die off with the older generations.

    • tiredofsametab
      3•9 months ago

      It’s not the most popular but it is eaten. My local supermarket sells it.

  • DominusOfMegadeusEnglish
    18•9 months ago

    Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshimasa Hayashi, whose electoral district is traditionally known for whaling, said Thursday the government supports sustainable use of whales as part of Japan’s traditional food culture and plans to promote the industry.

    “Whales are an important food resource and we believe they should be sustainably utilized just like any other marine resources, based on scientific evidence,” Hayashi told reporters. “It is also important to carry on Japan’s traditional food culture.”

    I think Cabinet Secretaries are an important food resource that should be sustainably utilized.

  • @ShinkanTrain@lemmy.mlEnglish
    15•9 months ago

    Those savages

    Anyway, who’s up for eating a bucket with the wings of 30 chickens that were killed in the same box they were born in

        • Flying SquidEnglish
          13•9 months ago

          I don’t eat meat, but I really don’t understand how people like you expect to insult people into not eating meat.

          Have you ever been insulted into doing something other people want you to do? I sure haven’t.

          • @ShinkanTrain@lemmy.mlEnglish
            8•9 months ago

            You can eat meat, just don’t be a hypocrite about it and pretend you’re better than other people eating meat because your meat lives in pain neck deep in their own shit before you kill it

            • @protist@mander.xyzEnglish
              12•9 months ago

              Cool, so anyone who eats meat should be totally ok with eating whales. Thanks for clarifying that, we’ll stop trying to get people to stop eating whales now thanks to your advice.

              • @ShinkanTrain@lemmy.mlEnglish
                3•9 months ago

                The options are either that or not eating meat while continuing to try to stop people from eating whales. I support you in whichever you pick.

            • Flying SquidEnglish
              7•9 months ago

              Sounds like you don’t care about animal cruelty either, in that case. As long as you aren’t participating in it.

              Seems to me like trying to convince other people not to do it rather than insulting them might be a better use of your time.

                • Flying SquidEnglish
                  6•9 months ago

                  Plenty of others have put a lot of effort into convincing people to stop eating meat with a decent amount of success. Do you have some sort of condition preventing you from doing the same? I doubt it.

                  Again, it seems to me like you have no issues with animal cruelty, just hypocrisy.

  • @Bananigans@lemmy.dbzer0.comEnglish
    6•9 months ago

    The whale in the picture is at the natural history museum in Ueno. It’s a really nice place to visit if you’re ever in Tokyo and you can see taxidermied Hachiko (⁠ ⁠⚈̥̥̥̥̥́⁠⌢⁠⚈̥̥̥̥̥̀⁠)

  • @frezik@midwest.socialEnglish
    6•9 months ago

    The Japanese have clearly ignored the threat of an alien probe showing up 200 years from now and sucking away the oceans looking for the missing whales.