Japan is again sending research ships to kill hundreds of whales — here's why

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Associated Press

On Tuesday, December 1, a fleet of Japanese ships departed for Antarctic waters.

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The four vessels are subsidized in part by Japan's government, and the sailors' goal is to kill hundreds of bus-sized Minke whales.

Japan claims these expeditions are scientific in nature, but the fleet is likely in violation of both a global ban on whale hunting and a recent ruling by an international court of law.

Here's why Japan keeps sponsoring whale hunts in spite of stark forces working against the practice.

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On December 1, a whaling fleet subsidized by the Japanese government left on an expedition that will last through March 2016.

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Kyodo TPX/Reuters

Source: BBC

The fleet's goal is to kill hundreds of Minke whales in the waters near Antarctica.

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Anne-Line Brink/Flickr (CC BY 2.0)
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Minke whales are gentle giants that feed on tiny plankton. The animals can grow to 35 feet long and weigh 10 tons, or about the size of a bus.

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Associated Press

Source: NOAA

Japan defends its whaling practices today in the name of scientific research.

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Reuters
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But most of the world does not buy this rationale: Almost all of the whales become food.

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Reuters

Source: The Guardian

Activists believe whale hunting is "cruel," "inhumane," and unnecessary. Whales are sentient beings, they say, who are impossible to kill in a humane way.

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Reuters

Source: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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Scientists also consider whales as "engineers" of ocean ecosystems. Yet humans have hunted up to 90% of whales, with unknown consequences on the "structure and function" of the seas.

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WDCS

Source: Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment

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Japan defends its whale hunts, citing a provision in a 1986 global ban on commercial whaling. Officials say the provision allows it to kill whales for research.

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Associated Press

Source: The Guardian

But Australia has asked the United Nations' International Court of Justice (ICJ) for years to investigate Japan's "research" hunts.

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Reuters

Sources: IAFW, The Guardian

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In March 2014, the ICJ determined Japan was illegally hunting whales for commercial purposes under the guise of science.

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Reuters

Sources: IAFW, The Guardian

The ICJ says Japan has killed 14,000 whales since the global ban went into effect in 1986 — far beyond the needs of science.

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Reuters

Sources: IAFW, The Guardian

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In the 2013-2014 season alone, Japan killed 251 Minke whales.

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Reuters

Source: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

This season Japan plans to kill up to 333 Minke whales in hopes of harpooning at least 50 sexually mature females.

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Reuters

Source: International Whaling Commission

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A 110-page report released by Japan's government in November 2015 argues such "lethal sampling" of whales is necessary to conserve them.

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Reuters

Source: International Whaling Commission

Meanwhile the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society, a wildlife protection group, says Japan is merely exploiting a "loophole" to sell whale meat.

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Associated Press

Source: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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Whale researchers from around the world have also called the Japanese government's bluff, saying there is no scientific justification for hunting wild whales.

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Associated Press

Source: Science Magazine

"We do not accept in any way, shape or form the concept of killing whales for so-called 'scientific research,'" Greg Hunt, Australia's minister for the environment, wrote in a statement.

Minke Whale
A minke whale, the species Japanese plans target. Flickr/Tom Benson

Source: GregHunt.com.au, The Washington Post

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Regardless, Japan's newest hunting fleet departed Tuesday, December 1, 2015, in whaling vessels with "RESEARCH" painted on the sides.

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Associated Press

Most of the whales will end up as food.

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Associated Press

Source: The Guardian

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Which primarily means whale sushi.

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Reuters

Source: The Guardian

But the market demand and prices for whale meat have nose-dived in recent years.

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Reuters

Source: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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Whale meat used to cost about $13.60 a pound in 1994. In 2006 it cost about $7.45 a pound.

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Reuters

Source: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

And while the average Japanese resident ate about 70 ounces of whale meat per year in 1967, residents ate less than 2 ounces per year in 2005.

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Reuters

Source: Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society

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Explanations for why Japanese officials keep subsidizing and protecting whale hunts when "most people don’t eat whale" run the gamut.

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Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Whale_meat_sold_at_the_Bergen_fish_market_2012.jpg

Source: The Diplomat

It may be for purposes of national identity, tradition, food security, defending fishing rights, cushy government-subsidized jobs — or, most likely, some complex mix of these and other reasons.

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Reuters

Source: The Diplomat

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Whatever the case, Japan seems determined to flout the international community's will and continue sponsoring whale hunts.

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Reuters
Japan Food
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