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Japan imports whale meat from Norway and Iceland for first time in 18 years

June 4, 2008
By Ken Worsley


For the first time since 1990, Japan has imported whale meat, according to today’s Japan Times and other sources. Apparently, 80 tons of fin whale caught in 2006 by Iceland arrived in Japan in May, and five tons of minke whale caught by Norway have been shipped to Japan so far this year.

The imports have hardly gone unnoticed, however, as the US State Department is urging Iceland and Norway to stop the export of whale meat. The International Whaling Commission will be holding its annual conference in China later this month, and we again expect to see a full-on soap opera of ego, activism and nationalism mixed in a broth of greed, PR and spin. Sort of like a pre-Olympic primer.

However, the importation of whale meat raises several questions: Have western protests over Japanese whaling led to increased domestic demand? Is the government importing meat to pass off to hospitals and schools? Have the decreased sizes of Japan’s “research” catches in recent years led to shortages of whale meat on supermarket shelves? And finally, getting to food we need: Do Norway and Iceland have any butter to send over?

Seriously, we could use some butter.

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Comments

4 Responses to “Japan imports whale meat from Norway and Iceland for first time in 18 years”

  1. Petter Kjoelleberg on June 5th, 2008 8:11 am

    Well done ,Japan Iceland and Norway!!! Pepoel from London taasted Mink whale redmeat , grilled near “Aker brygge” in Oslo. When they heard that the Mink in the North Atlantic is not threatened they shouteed out: Oh! It tasted lovely. I am surprised. And for sure: The Mink in the North is NOT t hreatened by a chatching a regulated quota, like Iceland and Norway have done.

  2. Greg L. on June 9th, 2008 12:52 pm

    Maybe I’m just being paranoid, but I wouldn’t eat anything that came out of the North Sea - including Salmon. Mercury poisoning doesn’t appeal.
    However, I guess it’s only a matter of time before the Pacific is as fouled as the North Atlantic.

  3. Japan to bring in emergency butter imports from October Japan Economy News & Blog - Business, Economy, Marketing and Economic Reports on June 26th, 2008 6:45 pm

    […] post discussing Japan’s recent importation of whale meat from Iceland published back on June 4 ended with the line, “Seriously, we could use some […]

  4. W. Anthony Malcolm on June 28th, 2008 8:42 am

    I wonder if Japan is yielding to pressure over the mercury content of the whale meat they have been catching domestically, or if the protests down in the Arctic are so fierce and expensive this is the best option? I think the latter. I would still like some butter on my shelves. Hard to come by in Akita. They forget about us up here, from time to time.

    Peace

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