Japan’s new whaling plan has already failed the scrutiny of scientists earlier this year, and now legal experts are showing the plan also fails the tests of legality established by the ICJ. After facing criticism from all sides, the Japanese government had said that the whale killing was part of scientific research, and not a commercial operation.
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There is still a possibility that anti-whaling nations will take legal action against Japan at the worldwide court over its decision to resume its research program.
In April a year ago, the ICJ ruled that Japan must stop its whaling programme in the Antarctic, ordering the Japanese Fisheries Agency (JFA) to revoke all whaling licenses and not to issue any more. This claim of the Japanese government was rejected by the International Court of Justice.
Argentines on Tuesday expressed their opposition to and disgust at Japan’s decision to restart whale hunting.
Under the revised plan, Japan will target only Antarctic minke whales, with a goal of reducing its catch to 333 whales, or about one-third of its previous target. The group’s CEO, Captain Alex Cornelissen, said in a statement that all whales roaming the Southern seas are “protected by worldwide law”, warning Japan that “any violation of the sanctity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary or the Australian Whale Sanctuary will be regarded as a criminal act”. The organization also revealed that the Japanese government’s whaling activities subsidized the industry, but demand of whale meat has fallen in last few years. Japan accuses opponents of being emotional about whales and disregarding its evidence in support. Since the International Whaling Commission banned commercial whaling in 1986, Japan has killed more than 10,000 whales. But Japan in response to it said that whaling is very necessary for scientific research. They began this scientific whaling in 1987 which is one year after an worldwide whaling moratorium became effective.
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The Monitor in 2014 reported that 95% of Japanese never or rarely eat whale meat and 88.8 percent of Japanese had not bought whale meat in the last 12 months. George Brandis, the Australian attorney general, told NBC News that the country will consider sending a patrol boat from its Customs and Border Protection Service to the Antarctic.
