YOKOHAMA, Japan (AP) — A Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its controversial products, has found a new way to cultivate…
The Kujira Store, an unmanned outlet that recently opened in the port town of Yokohama near Tokyo, houses three machines for whale sashimi, whale bacon, whale skin and whale steak, as well as canned whale meat at prices from 1,000 yen to 3,000 yen .Sign up to receive daily headline news from Ottawa Citizen, a division of Postmedia Network Inc.By clicking on the sign up button you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc.
The idea is to open vending machines near supermarkets, where whale meat is usually not available, to cultivate demand, a task crucial for the industry’s survival.Article content At the store in the Motomachi district of Yokohama, a posh shopping area near Chinatown, 61-year-old customer Mami Kashiwabara went straight for whale bacon, her father’s favorite. To her disappointment it was sold out, so she settled for frozen onomi, tail meat that is regarded as a rare delicacy.Article content
Under its commercial whaling in the Japanese exclusive economic zone, Japan last year caught 270 whales, less than 80% of the quota and fewer than the number it once hunted in the Antarctic and the northwestern Pacific in its research program. Whales may also be moving away from the Japanese coasts due to a scarcity of saury, a staple of their diet, and other fish possibly due to the impact of climate change, Kubo said.
Whale meat was an affordable source of protein during Japan’s undernourished years after World War II, with annual consumption peaking at 233,000 tons in 1962. Whaling officials attributed the shrinking supply in the past three years to the absence of imports due to the pandemic, and plan to nearly double this year’s supply with imports of more than 2,500 tons from Iceland.
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Japan launches whale meat vending machines to promote salesA Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its controversial products, has found a new way to cultivate clientele.
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Japan launches whale meat vending machines to promote salesA Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its controversial products, has found a new way to cultivate clientele.
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Japan launches whale meat vending machines to promote salesA Japanese whaling operator, after struggling for years to promote its controversial products, has found a new way to cultivate clientele.
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