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why do the japanese still hunt whales? A slaughtered whale on board a Japanese whaling vessel carrying out scientific research in the Antarctic in 1993. The baleen fringe is visible inside the animal's wide open mouth. **Japanese Whaling History** Japan has a long history of whaling. Half a dozen towns can trace their whaling history back hundreds of years, to when whales were driven into nets, harpooned repeatedly and then dispatched with either a long sword or a wooden plug driven into the blowhole. Hand harpoons dating as far back as 10,000 B.C. indicate an even longer tradition of whaling in Japan. At the turn of the 20th century, Japanese coastal whaling received a boost with the introduction of steam ships and grenade-tipped harpoon guns. However, it wasn't until 1934 that Japan expanded its whaling to Antarctica. Whales helped keep Japanese citizens fed both during and after World War 2. In 1947 whale meat made up almost half of all animal protein consumed by the country. Nearly 20 years later, whales continued to make up nearly one-quarter of the Japanese diet. This history is an important part of why the Japanese continue to hunt whales. Attempts to stop the nation's whaling are perceived by many as a threat to Japanese culture. According to its defenders, eating whale meat is an old and impenetrable Japanese tradition. "No one has the right to criticize the food culture of another people," said Matayuki Komatsu of Japan's Fisheries Agency. A sense of pride also fuels Japan's commitment to whaling. To some, the words and actions of those who oppose Japanese whaling are "culturally arrogant" and unnecessarily harsh. This only serves to strengthen the country's resolve to maintain its whaling, according to some. Minke whales, though not at historic levels, remain plentiful. A population of 761,000 exists in the Southern Ocean, according to Japan, though some claim the number is closer to 268,000. Regardless, they exist in enough numbers that a return to commercial whaling of this species can likely be supported, assuming strict management of stocks and reasonable annual catch limits. Japan says that its whaling research over the last two decades has paved the way for long-term, sustainable use of this "renewable marine food resource." Why not hunt whales if they can be hunted sustainably? And if the principle of sustainable use is compromised on behalf of one animal, what's to stop a "domino effect" from happening that in time would limit Japan's use of other animal resources that it relies so heavily upon? []
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 * Japanese Culture and Pride**
 * The Principle of Sustainable Use**

The 19th century whaling industry was one of the most prominent businesses in America. Hundreds of ships setting out from ports, mostly in New England, roamed the globe, bringing back whale oil and other products made from whales. While American ships created a highly organized industry, the hunting of whales had ancient roots. It is believed that men began hunting whales as far back as the Neolithic Period, thousands of years ago. And throughout recorded history, the enormous mammals have been highly prized for the products they can provide. Oil obtained from a whale’s blubber has been used for both lighting and lubricating purposes, and the bones of the whale were used to make a variety of useful products. In the early 19th century, a typical American household might contain several items manufactured from whale products, such as candles or corsets made with whalebone stays.

Origins of Whaling Fleets
The Basques, from present day Spain, were going to sea to hunt and kill whales about a thousand years ago, and that appears to be the beginning of organized whaling. Whaling in the Arctic regions began about 1600 following the discovery of Spitzbergen by the Dutch explorer William Barents. Before long the British and Dutch were dispatching whaling fleets to the frozen waters, at times coming close to violent conflict over which country would control the whaling grounds. The technique used by the British and Dutch fleets was to hunt by having the ships dispatch small boats rowed by teams of men. A harpoon attached to a heavy rope would be thrown into a whale, and when the whale was killed it would be towed to the ship and tied alongside. A grisly process, called "cutting in," would then begin in which the whale’s skin and blubber would be peeled off in long strips and boiled down to make whale oil.

Dawn of the American Whaling Industry
In the 1700s, American colonists began developing their own whale fishery (note: the term “fishery” was commonly used, though the whale, of course, is a mammal, not a fish). Islanders from Nantucket, who had taken to whaling because their soil was too poor for farming, killed their first sperm whale in 1712. That particular species of whale was highly prized. Not only did it have the blubber and bone that other whales had, but it possessed a unique substance called spermaceti, a waxy oil found in a mysterious organ in the massive head of the sperm whale. It is believed that the organ containing the spermaceti either aids in buoyancy or is somehow related to the acoustic signals whales send and receive. Whatever its purpose to the whale, spermaceti was greatly coveted by man.

Whales Were Considered to Be Swimming Oil Wells
By the late 1700s this unusual oil was being used to make candles which were smokeless and odorless. Spermaceti candles were a vast improvement over the candles in use before that time, and some people have said they were the best candles ever made, before or since. Spermaceti, as well as whale oil obtained from rendering the blubber of a whale, was also used to lubricate precision machine parts. In a sense, a 19th century whaler regarded a whale as a swimming oil well. And the oil from whales, used in machinery, made the industrial revolution possible.

In the 1800s Whaling Becomes an Industry
By the early 1800s, whaling ships from New England were setting out on very long voyages to the Pacific Ocean in search of sperm whales. Some of these voyages could literally last for years. A number of seaports in New England supported the whaling industry, but one town, New Bedford, Massachusetts, became known as the world’s center of whaling. Of the more than 700 whaling ships on the world’s oceans in the 1840s, more than 400 called New Bedford their home port. Wealthy whaling captains built large houses in the best neighborhoods, and New Bedford was known as "The City that Lit the World." Life aboard a whaling ship was difficult and dangerous, yet the profession drew thousands of men to leave their homes and risk their lives. Part of it was the call of adventure, but there were also financial rewards. It was typical for a crew of a whaler to split the proceeds, with even the lowliest seaman getting a share of the profits. The world of whaling seemed to possess its own self-contained society, and one feature which is sometimes overlooked is that whaling captains were known to welcome men of diverse races. There were a number of black men who served on whaling ships, and even a black whaling captain, Absalom Boston of Nantucket.

Whaling Declines, Yet Seems Immortal
The Golden Age of American whaling extended into the 1850s, and what spelled its demise was the invention of the oil well. With oil extracted from underground being refined into kerosene for lamps, the demand for whale oil plummeted. And while whaling continued, as whalebone could still be used for a number of household products, the era of the great whaling ships faded into history. Whaling, with all its hardships and peculiar customs, was immortalized in the pages of Herman Melville's classic novel //Moby Dick//. Melville himself had sailed on a whaling ship, the Acushnet, which left New Bedford in January 1841. While at sea Melville would have heard many tales of whaling, including reports of whales that attacked men. He would even have heard [|famous yarns of a malicious white whale] known to cruise the waters of the South Pacific. And an immense amount of whaling knowledge, much of it quite accurate, some of it embroidered, found its way into the pages of his masterpiece.

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The official reason that Japan gives for whale hunting is "scientific research". They say the only way to determine the whale's age is to kill it. The purpose of the "research" is to prove that whale populations have improved enough to allow commercial whaling which was banned by the International Whaling Commission in 1986. However, the whale meat is sold as a delicacy. It is likely this is the real reason for the whale hunting. In recent years activists have disrupted whale hunting in the arctic. Whaling in the world is now banned, whales were considered threatened in 1950, then endangered in 1963, they were banned in 1986. There are some countries that still continue to harpoon whales, one certain country has a long history of harpooning whales, and is currently aiming to hunt a total of 1035 whales (which will be one of their most biggest catches in 2 decades), which is Japan. Some of their whaling is in the near the Antarctic Ocean, and a few boats near the Australian Border. Australians are trying to stop them, but the Japanese say that they are doing this for scientific research. People are certain that they are using this for their medicine, using the Whale's oil, and the rest are used for their sushi, which is their popular dish in their country, and other dishes as well. The whale that they target is the hump-back whale, which has a lot of oil in them, once they are cut open, Japanese scientists check their diet, see if they are eating right, if not, they throw it back it in the Sea. The White Hump-back whale isn't the only whale they are aiming for, they are also targeting grey whales & Minkes Whales, which can be found in the Antarctic Ocean. The Green Peace group in Australia is protesting that Australia should help other organizations to stop Japan's whaling, Kevin Rudd is currently setting a plan to spy on the Japanese whalers. The countries that are currently opposing Japanese whaling are US, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Kevin Rudd has sent out planes and boats to where he knows Japan is whaling in Antarctica to collect evidence that they are not using them for scientific reasons, but to use them for their own use. Also, there is a boat called the "Sea Shepard" a boat that will chase, block and harass if they see any attempts to harpoon the hump-backs, they already have destroyed a fleet in the Antarctic Ocean. You are still probably asking why Japan hunts whales. Well, Japan also argues it is a cherished cultural tradition, and they don't agree with the criticism that killing whales and eating them is barbaric. Japan also said that they hunt whales to feed their hungry population, and they started doing this during World War II. Some scientists believe that the Japanese rarely eat the whale meat, and you don't see it on Japanese dinner tables, you can only find it in restaurants and markets.

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