page_title: Whaling in Japan
section_title: World War II
hierarchical_section_title: Whaling in Japan / History / World War II
caption_attribution_description: English: Starboard quarter bow view of the Japanese whale factory vessel Tonan Maru No. 2 which was drafted into military use and then damaged by Dutch Dornier flying boats of GVT-2 from Tondano, Celebes, in the Netherlands East Indies on 23 Dec 1941 while taking part in the landing at Kuching, Borneo. Note the ramp in her stern to haul whale carcasses up to the flensing deck. The ship was repaired, avoided a torpedo attack on 25 June 1942, was sunk by the USS Amberjack 10 Oct 1942, raised, hit by the USS Bonefish 9 Feb 1944, repaired, sunk again by the USS Pintado 22 Aug 1944,[1] and finally raised again to serve as a whaler during the American occupation of Japan.
context_page_description: Japanese whaling, in terms of active hunting of whales, is estimated by the Japan Whaling Association to have begun around the 12th century. However, Japanese whaling on an industrial scale began around the 1890s when Japan started to participate in the modern whaling industry, at that time an industry in which many countries participated. Modern Japanese whaling activities have extended far outside Japanese territorial waters, including whale sanctuaries protected by other countries.
  During the 20th century, Japan was heavily involved in commercial whaling. This continued until the International Whaling Commission moratorium on commercial whaling went into effect in 1986. Japan continued to hunt whales using the scientific research provision in the agreement, and Japanese whaling was conducted by the Institute of Cetacean Research. This was allowed under IWC rules, although most IWC members opposed it.
context_section_description: During the Second World War, Japan's whaling was significantly limited to more familiar hunting grounds, such as the Bonin Islands, to provide meat and oil for domestic and military use. Whaling there was halted in March 1945 when the islands were taken by US forces. By November 1945 the whaling stations received permission to reopen; however, most whaling ships had been commandeered by the Imperial Japanese Navy, and by the end of the war the factory ships and most of the whale catchers had been sunk.
  General Douglas MacArthur encouraged the surrendered Japan to continue whaling in order to provide a cheap source of meat to starving people (and millions of dollars in oil for the US and Europe). The Japanese whaling industry quickly recovered as MacArthur authorized two tankers to be converted into factory ships, the Hashidate Maru and the Nisshin Maru. Whale catchers once again took blue whales, fins, humpbacks and sperm whales in the Antarctic and elsewhere.
  The first post-war expedition was overseen by a US naval officer, Lieutenant David McCracken, and observed by Australian Kenneth Coonan. Coonan expressed disapproval of McCracken in his reports of violated regulations and waste dumped over the side when the fleet began killing whales faster than they could be processed. McCracken even briefly joined in whaling with the Japanese crew of a whale catcher and detailed the trip in his 1948 book, Four Months on a Jap Whaler.
  The post-war recovery established whale meat as a nationwide food source for the first time. In 1947 whale meat made up over 50 percent of the meat consumed in Japan. The market significantly increased through commercial sale and public distribution. In 1954, the School Lunch Act also included whale meat in compulsory education (elementary and middle school) to improve the nutrition of Japanese children.
caption: The Tonan Maru No. 2 whaling factory ship, drafted into military use, was damaged by a Dutch submarine while taking part in the landing at Kuching, Borneo.
exif: {}