Vending machines opened by a Japanese whaling company in Yokohama, Japan, on January 24.
(Credit: Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)
(Reuters) --
A Japanese whaling company opened vending machines in Yokohama on Tuesday offering sashimi, whale fillet and bacon, hoping to revive sales of a long-declining food shunned by many supermarkets.
Wearing a whale-shaped hat, Kyodo Senpaku president Hideki Tokoro greeted prospective customers at the company's latest "unmanned store": a trio of vending machines in Motomachi, an upscale shopping district home to boutiques from fashion and artisan bakeries.
The company recently opened two similar stores in Tokyo, plans to open a fourth in the western city of Osaka next month, and hopes to reach 100 in the next five years.
"There are many major supermarkets who are afraid of being harassed by anti-whaling groups, so they don't carry whaling. So there are a lot of people who want to eat whales but can't," Tokoro said in the presentation.
"That's why we opened stores with the idea of offering a place where these people can eat."
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A customer buys whale meat from a vending machine in Yokohama, Japan, on January 24.
(Credit: Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)
The products for sale contain mostly whale caught in Japan, according to a company spokesperson, with prices ranging from 1,000 yen ($8) to 3,000 yen ($23).
Although the government maintains that eating whale is a treasured part of Japanese culture, consumption peaked in the early 1960s and has continued to decline as other sources of protein have become more accessible and affordable.
Whale meat consumption in Japan amounted to just 1,000 tons in 2021, compared with 2.6 million tons for chicken and 1.27 million tons for beef, according to government data.
At its peak, in 1962, the annual consumption of whale meat was 233,000 tons.
A customer with freshly purchased whale "bacon."
(Credit: Androniki Christodoulou/Reuters)
Environmentalists say the promotion of whale meat is a desperate attempt to revive interest in a failing business.
"Most Japanese have never tried it. So how can it be considered a national culture if no one really participates in it?" says Katrin Matthes, Japan policy officer for Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), an organization world charity.
Whaling in Japan is almost "a national pride"
The International Whaling Commission (IWC)—the world body that oversees whale conservation—banned commercial whaling in 1986 after some species were on the brink of extinction.
But Japan continued to hunt whales for research purposes.
He withdrew from the IWC and resumed commercial whaling in 2019.
Some passers-by near the store said they would be open to eating whale, but would not make a special effort.
"I wouldn't go out of my way to come (to buy it). I usually eat chicken," said Urara Inamoto, a 28-year-old customer service worker.
Proponents of whale meat point to its high protein content and low carbon footprint compared to other meats.
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