Japan to Resume Commercial Whaling After Pulling out of International Whaling Commission

A humpback whale slaps its tail on the surface of the water off the shore of the southern Japanese island of Okinawa on March 8, 2008. Issei Kato/Reuters

TOKYO—Japan will resume commercial whaling from July in its waters and exclusive economic zone while ending its controversial hunts in the Antarctic, it said on Dec. 26, as it announced its withdrawal from the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

Australia and New Zealand welcomed the decision to abandon the Antarctic whale hunt, but expressed disappointment that Japan would engage in any killing of the ocean mammals.