Japan to start hunting fin whales after five years of commercial whaling

FILE PHOTO: Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi attends a press conference following Japan and the Gulf Cooperation Council Foreign Ministers' meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, September 7, 2023. REUTERS/Ahmed Yosri/File Photo

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan will add large fin whales to its list of commercial whaling species, government spokesperson Yoshimasa Hayashi said on Thursday, five years after leaving an international body that regulates the commercial hunt of the marine mammals.

Japan resumed commercial whaling in its territorial waters and exclusive economic zones in 2019, on withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).