An unmanned 24-hour vending machine in the city of Yokohama sells meat from whales caught off Japan's coasts. Read the full story:
"I wouldn't go out of my way to come . I usually eat chicken," said Urara Inamoto, a 28-year-old customer service worker.
The company has recently set up two similar outlets in Tokyo and plans to open a fourth in the western city of Osaka in February.But while the government maintains eating whale is an important part of Japanese culture, consumption has dramatically declined in recent decades.Just 1,000 tonnes of whale meat was eaten in Japan in 2021, down from 233,000 tonnes at the peak of its popularity in 1962.
In comparison, consumption of chicken and beef totalled 2.6 million tonnes and 1.27 million tonnes respectively.Katrin Matthes, head of Japan policy for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation, said:"Most Japanese people have never ever tried it. So how can it be something you call a nationwide culture if nobody's really participating in it?"
The International Whaling Commission - a global organisation that oversees whale conservation - banned commercial whaling in 1986 after some species came close to extinction. However, Japan continued whaling for what it said were research purposes. The country later pulled out of the IWC and resumed commercial whaling in 2019.
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