Tokyo
Japan this week won an important, if symbolic, victory for whaling countries. After a vigorous lobbying campaign, Japan mustered enough votes at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission to pass a resolution, 33-32, declaring the ban on commercial whale hunting “no longer necessary.” The resolution doesn’t overturn the ban—a three-quarters majority is needed for that—but it does demonstrate that pro-whaling forces now outnumber environmentalists on the commission. “They’ve been kicking us down all the time,” said Norwegian whaling lobbyist Rune Fervet. “Now we can kick back.” The commission ordered a halt to whaling in 1986, although Norway has ignored the ban completely while Japan and Iceland have exploited a loophole to harvest about 1,000 whales a year each, ostensibly for scientific research.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
What has Kamala Harris done as vice president?In Depth It's not uncommon for the second-in-command to struggle to prove themselves in a role largely defined by behind-the-scenes work
-
Today's political cartoons - September 16, 2024Monday's cartoons - a second assassination attempt, eating pets, and more
-
'If this is a race, China has a commanding lead'Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
