The Japanese already hunt the minke whale. U.S. officials have said Washington could impose trade sanctions against Japanese fishery products and other goods if any of the protected whales are slaughtered. Mineta said the Japanese whaling fleet was being closely monitored. Mineta said the U.S. ambassador to Japan, Thomas Foley, delivered his stern warning to Tokyo Monday. Bryde's, sperm whales to be hunted Japan gave up commercial whaling in compliance with an international moratorium in 1986 but has engaged in research whaling since 1987.
Japan is the largest consumer of whale meat in the world.
Japan's decision to expand the hunt to include Bryde's and sperm whales outraged the United States and other members of the International Whaling Commission, which passed a resolution urging Japan not to proceed. According to U.S. officials, no nation has hunted these whale species since 1987, one year after the international moratorium took effect. Both are protected under the U.S. Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the sperm whale is listed as an endangered species. Despite appeals last week by President Clinton and British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the Japanese fleet set out Saturday for the northwestern Pacific with the goal of hunting 160 minke as well as 50 Bryde's and 10 sperm whales. The agency said whales will be killed and their meat sold to local markets, arguing that Bryde's and sperm populations have recovered, so hunting can resume.