Campaigners criticise Japan firm selling whale meat from vending machines

A Japanese whaling company has sparked an angry response from animal rights campaigners after it started selling whale meat from vending machines, leading to an increase in consumption.

In Tokyo, Kyodo Senpaku recently launched its initial kujira (whale meat) “establishments” at two sites following a profitable trial towards the end of the previous year. Kyodo Senpaku’s ships headed Japan’s whaling fleet during its contentious voyages to the Southern Ocean.

The machines sell a variety of whale meat products, including canned items containing imported meat from Iceland, such as red meat that can be eaten raw like sashimi, steaks, bacon, and others, at prices ranging from ¥3,000 to ¥1,000 (£6).

After the 1960s, pork, chicken, and beef became more accessible, resulting in a decline in consumption. However, during postwar food shortages in Japan, whale meat emerged as a prevalent source of protein and served as a staple.

According to the agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ministry, in 1962, the consumption of whale meat by Japanese consumers reached 233,000 tonnes, exceeding the quantities of beef (157,000) and chicken (155,000). However, the consumption of whale meat in 2021 drastically decreased to only 1,000 tonnes.

Demonstrated that a significant number of individuals still possessed a fondness for the customary gastronomy, however, Kyodo Senpaku reported initial sales from its seven vending machines in Tokyo.

“Sales have exceeded our expectations, even though the products aren’t exactly affordable,” stated Konomu Kubo, a spokesperson for the company.

According to him, there was a combination of curious youth and nostalgic elderly individuals who were interested in going on a journey down memory lane, and he mentioned that certain products have already been completely sold.

However, activists criticized the company for attempting desperately to support the inhumane and diminishing whale industry in Japan.

Whale and Dolphin Conservation stated that the Japanese government granted 5bn yen in financial support to bolster the whaling sector in 2020, with the goal of promoting the consumption of whale-related food products as part of their efforts to safeguard the industry and counter the decrease in whale meat consumption in Japan.

The country’s whaling interests are driven by a small yet influential group of politicians and stakeholders in the whaling industry, stated Astrid Fuchs, the group’s campaigner. This recent cynical sales tactic, which may also expand the range of species that can be hunted, occurs as Japan’s fisheries agency aims to increase the nation’s whale-catching quotas within approximately two years.

Miki Yamanaka, a Tokyo woman, said meat she had bought from the machines had proved a hit with members of her family.

Yamanaka, who is 43 years old, informed the Yomiuri Shimbun publication at Kyodo Senpaku’s establishment located in the southeastern outskirts of the capital, “My father consumed tatsuta-age [fried whale meat] with a sentimental expression, and my oldest offspring, currently attending high school, is an enthusiast of whale steak prepared with soy sauce.” “I have returned today to make further purchases.”

In the upcoming five years, the company intends to have machines functioning in 100 different sites throughout Japan and intends to inaugurate a third establishment this week in the maritime metropolis of Yokohama.

In 2014, the international court of justice ordered Japan to halt its annual slaughter of about 900 whales in the Southern Ocean, concluding that scientific research claimed by Japan as a reason for conducting the hunts was unjust.

In its coastal waters, Japan would end the hunts but resume commercial whaling and pulled out of the IWC, five years later.

In 1986, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling, which banned the practice of catching whales in the Southern Ocean and exporting them to Japan.

Local whalers have expressed that their industry is facing challenges in terms of survival due to a potential connection between declining consumption, climate change impacts, changes in cetacean behavior, aging vessels, and fishing communities. It is noteworthy that the government has established a quota of 379 whales, spanning across three species, for this year.

According to a 2012 survey conducted by the International Fund for Animal Welfare, 89% of Japanese individuals stated that they had not purchased whale meat in the past year.

As part of an initiative by the industry, Kyodo Senpaku supplies approximately 100 tonnes of whale meat to schools each year for use in children’s lunches. This aims to safeguard a longstanding tradition of consuming whale meat that dates back to the Edo period (1603-1868). The campaign is backed by conservative politicians who criticize western anti-whaling organizations for promoting culinary imperialism. The inclusion of vending machines is a strategic move in this effort.

Kubo stated, “The level of popularity that the vending machines have achieved thus far is of great significance to us.” “Although we acknowledge the feedback from organizations opposed to whaling, both within Japan and abroad, they represent a minority viewpoint.”