This is a summary of two stories about the 2017 Whale Hunt by Japanese whalers in the Southern Ocean. One of them was a Reuters wire service story that ran in the Japan Times online paper just after the Japanese whaling fleet set off from Shimonoseki (in November). It reported how the Australian Prime Minister was “deeply disappointed” in Japan’s continued whaling operations. Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull brought up the issue with Shinzo Abe when they met in Sydney during a January 2017 meeting. The Australian Environment Minister, Josh Frydenberg, reminded everyone that Japan’s pretext for its continued whaling was fraudulent because “It is not necessary to kill whales in order to study them.”
Reuters. (2017, January 16). Australia disappointed by Japan’s whale hunt in Southern Ocean. Japan Times. Retrieved June 8, 2017, from http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2017/01/16/national/politics-diplomacy/australia-disappointed-japans-whale-hunt-southern-ocean/#.WTjFrsklGRs
The second article came from a French wire service called Agence France-Presse. It reported on the return of the Japanese whaling fleet from the Southern Ocean to Shimonoseki after it caught 333 minke whales which was in violation of a worldwide moratorium (since 1986) on catching whales and was strongly opposed by Australia and New Zealand.
Agence France-Presse. (2017, March 31). Japan kills more than 300 whales in annual Antarctic hunt. The Guardian. Retrieved June 8, 2017, from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/31/japan-kills-whales-annual-antarctic-hunt
