TOKYO: Japanese whalers returned to port Thursday after an Antarctic hunt that killed more than 300 of the mammals, the government said.
The fleet had set sail for the Southern Ocean in December, with plans to slaughter 333 minke whales, despite a worldwide moratorium and opposition led by Australia and New Zealand.
Japan’s Fisheries Agency announced Thursday that the target number of “scientific research” kills had been achieved.
The 2015/16 season came after a one-year hiatus prompted by a ruling by the United Nations’ International Court of Justice (ICJ), which said the annual hunt was a commercial venture masquerading as science.
Under the International Whaling Commission, to which Japan is a signatory, there has been a moratorium on hunting whales since 1986.
But Japan persists in the practice using a loophole in the ban that allows for lethal research. Tokyo claims it is trying to prove the whale population is large enough to sustain a return to commercial hunting, and says it has to kill the mammals to carry out its research properly.
However, it makes no secret of the fact that whale meat ends up on dinner tables and is served up in school lunches.
In response to the ICJ ruling, Japan’s 2014-15 mission carried out only “non-lethal research” such as taking skin samples and doing headcounts.
However, the government of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had been determined to resume the hunt.
The haul announced Thursday is bigger than it has been in recent years when the mission has been hampered by a confrontational campaign on the high seas by environmentalist group Sea Shepherd.
The group, which attracts support from celebrities including actress Brigitte Bardot, has harangued Japanese vessels in the Southern Ocean, and has claimed success in drastically reducing the catch.
In the 2013-14 season, just 251 minke whales were caught, while the figure was only 103 in the season before.
That compares with historic catches of around 850.
The returning fleet arrived early Thursday at Shimonoseki port in western Japan, the fisheries agency said.
Besides the kills, the agency also said it conducted non-lethal research such as observation, the taking of skin samples from live whales and attaching tracking devices to whales.
“Attaching GPS devices helps us study minke whales’ migration routes by tracking them for several days,” agency official Hiroyuki Morita told AFP.
Environmental campaign group Greenpeace on Thursday labelled the hunt “unnecessary” and said it violated the UN court ruling.
“It is completely unacceptable for the Japanese government to ignore the ICJ’s findings and furthermore, completely unnecessary to go ahead with lethal research,” said Greenpeace Japan executive director Junichi Sato.
Japan has hunted whales for centuries, and their meat was a key source of protein in the immediate post-World War II years when the country was desperately poor.
But consumption has dramatically declined in recent decades, with significant proportions of the population saying they “never” or “rarely” eat whale meat.
Some experts say that Japan’s refusal to give up the Antarctic mission despite censure by the international court is largely due to a small group of powerful politicians.
Japan fleet kills 333 whales in Antarctic hunt
Japan fleet kills 333 whales in Antarctic hunt
Somalia denounces Israeli recognition of Somaliland
- Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip
- Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkiye, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasized “their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia”
MOGADISHU: Somalia reacted angrily Friday after Israel formally recognized its northern region of Somaliland as an “independent and sovereign state” — the first country country to do so.
Somaliland, which declared independence from Somalia in 1991, has for decades pushed for international recognition, which has been the key priority for president Abdirahman Mohamed Abdullahi since he took office last year.
But a Somali foreign ministry statement warned that the decision was “deliberate attack” on its sovereignty that would undermine peace in the region. Several other countries also condemned Israel’s decision.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said he announced “the official recognition of the Republic of Somaliland as an independent and sovereign state,” making Israel the first country to do so.
“The declaration is in the spirit of the Abraham Accords,” Netanyahu’s office said, referring to several agreements between Israel and Arab countries brokered by US President Donald Trump during his first presidency to normalize ties with Israel.
It said Netanyahu had invited Abdullahi to visit.
Hailing Israel’s decision, Abdullahi said in a post on X that it marked the beginning of a “strategic partnership.”
“This is a historic moment as we warmly welcome” he said, affirming “Somaliland’s readiness to join the Abraham Accords,” he added.
In Hargeisa, the capital of Somaliland, crowds of people took to the streets to celebrate, many carrying the flag of the breakaway state, said sources.
- ‘Illegitimate actions’ -
Somalia’s foreign ministry said: “Illegitimate actions of this nature seriously undermine regional peace and stability, exacerbate political and security tensions, in the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, the Middle East and the wider region.”
Turkiye, a close ally of Somalia, also condemned the move.
“This initiative by Israel, which aligns with its expansionist policy... constitutes overt interference in Somalia’s domestic affairs,” it said in a foreign ministry statement.
Egypt’s foreign ministry said its top diplomat had spoken with his counterparts from Turkiye, Somalia and Djibouti, who together condemned the move and emphasized “their full support for the unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Somalia.”
In video showing Netanyahu speaking to Abdullahi by telephone, the Israeli leader said: “I want you to know that I am signing now as we speak Israel’s official recognition of the Somaliland,” adding that the new relationship would offer economic opportunities.
“I am very, very happy and I am very proud of this day and I want to wish you and the people of Somaliland the very, very best,” he said.
Netanyahu also said that he would communicate to Trump Abdullahi’s “willingness and desire to join the Abraham accords.”
A self-proclaimed republic, Somaliland enjoys a strategic position on the Gulf of Aden, has its own money, passports and army. But since its unilateral declaration of independence in 1991, it has grappled with decades of isolation.
- Strategic -
Analysts say matters of strategy were behind Israel’s drive to recognize Somaliland.
“Israel requires allies in the Red Sea region for many strategic reasons, among them the possibility of a future campaign against the Houthis,” said the Institute for National Security Studies in a paper last month, referring to Yemen’s Iran-backed rebels.
“Somaliland is an ideal candidate for such cooperation as it could offer Israel potential access to an operational area close to the conflict zone,” it said, adding there were also economic motives.
Israel repeatedly hit targets in Yemen after the Gaza war broke out in October 2023, in response to Houthi attacks on Israel that the rebels said were in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
The Houthis have halted their attacks since a fragile truce began in Gaza in October.
Somaliland’s lack of international recognition has hampered access to foreign loans, aid and investment, and the territory remains deeply impoverished.
A deal between landlocked Ethiopia and Somaliland last year to lease a stretch of coastline for a port and military base enraged Somalia.
Israel has been trying to bolster relations with countries in the Middle East and Africa.
Historic agreements struck late in Trump’s first term in 2020 saw several countries including Muslim-majority United Arab Emirates and Morocco normalize relations with Israel, but wars that have stoked Arab anger, particularly in Gaza, have hampered recent efforts.
