海角大神

Japan whale quota: Hunting resumes despite ruling

Japan whale quota calls for hunting 333 minke whales, down from some 900 in previous whale quotas. The announcement comes despite an international court ruling that said previous Japan whale hunts were illegal.

Japan聽on Tuesday unveiled plans to resume whale hunting in the Southern Ocean despite an international court ruling that previous hunts were illegal, but said it would slash the quota for the so-called scientific聽whaling聽program.

罢丑别听International Court of Justice聽(ICJ) ruled earlier this year that聽Japan's decades-old whale hunt should stop - a ruling that聽Tokyo聽was urged to heed in September by the international body that oversees whales.

The new plan, which a聽Fisheries Agency聽official said was drawn up in line with suggestions contained in the court ruling, calls for hunting 333 minke whales, down from some 900 in聽Japan's previous聽whaling聽plans, in the 2015-2016 season.

The plan, which聽Japan聽has submitted to the International聽Whaling聽Commission, also limits the hunt to minkes. In past years, the hunts had included quotas for humpback and fin whales as well.

"We hope to earnestly explain this new plan in order to win understanding from other nations in the world,"Koya Nishikawa, the fisheries minister, told reporters.

Japan聽canceled its聽Antarctic聽hunt this year in response to the ICJ ruling, and carried out a scaled-down version of its less known Northern Pacific hunt this summer.

Japan聽has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is a cherished part of its food culture. It began what it called scientific聽whaling聽in 1987, a year after an international moratorium came into effect, despite growing global outrage. (Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)