Japan proposes expanding commercial whaling to fin whales

People walk nearby a life size model of a whale displayed at the National Science Museum in Tokyo (Eugene Hoshiko/AP)

Japan’s Fisheries Agency has proposed expanding commercial whaling along the country’s coast to fin whales, a larger species than the three currently permitted.

The proposal comes five years after Japan resumed commercial whaling within its exclusive economic zone after withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission in 2019.