Japan resumes commercial whaling after 30 years; vows to stay out of Antarctic MPAs

TOKYO — Japan resumed commercial whale hunting on Monday after a hiatus of more than 30 years, defying calls from conservation groups to protect animals once hunted to the brink of extinction.

Now whalers, who have long depended on government subsidies for their survival, face the much tougher challenge of defying basic economic reality: The market for their product is declining while labor costs across the nation are on the rise.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/01/business/japan-commercial-whaling.html