Japan set to resume commercial whaling next week after 32-year break(1/5)

Captured short-finned pilot whales are seen on the deck of a whaling ship at Taiji Port in Japan's oldest whaling village of Taiji, 420 km (260 miles) southwest of Tokyo June 4, 2008. (Photo/Agencies)

Japan has for decades been steadfastly defiant about hunting whales despite widespread anger, including from key allies like the United States. After roughly 30 years of what it has called "scientific research whaling", which saw several hundred Minke whales taken annually in the Antarctic and North Pacific, Japan will resume commercial whaling on 1 July. The country announced it would confine its hunts to Japanese territorial waters but end its controversial annual expeditions to the Southern Ocean, following its withdrawal from the international whaling treaty last December.

A set menu of deep-fried whale nuggets are prepared at the restaurant P-man in Minamiboso, east of Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2019. (Photo/Agencies)

Wada fishing port in Minamiboso, east of Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2019. (Photo/Agencies)

Canned whale meat is displayed at a roadside store named WA-O! in Minamiboso, east of Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2019. (Photo/Agencies)

A menu featuring whale meat dishes are seen at a restaurant P-man in Minamiboso, east of Tokyo, Japan June 14, 2019. Picture taken June 14, 2019. (Photo/Agencies)