Recently, whale meat has started to be sold in vending machines in downtown Japan. 



According to foreign media such as CNN on the 24th (local time), Tokyo-based company Kyodo Senbaku (共同船舶) installed a total of four vending machines selling frozen whale meat in Tokyo and other regions last month and started selling them in earnest. . 



These vending machines mainly sell frozen whale meat such as whale sashimi, whale steak, and whale bacon caught in Japan, as well as canned and cooked meat.



Prices range from 1,000 to 3,000 yen (9,500 to 29,000 won in Korean currency).



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▲ 'Frozen Whale Bacon' from the vending machine


Hideki Dokoro, president of Kyodosenbaku, explained, "We don't sell it in regular supermarkets because we're under pressure from anti-whaling groups, but we're running it for people who want to eat whale meat but can't."



We recently opened two stores in Tokyo and plan to open a fourth store in Osaka next month. 



If sales continue to go well, the goal is to increase the number to 100 within the next five years.



It also plans to import 3,000 tonnes of baleen whales annually from Iceland starting next month to support the global whaling industry. 


Local "to protect the unique food culture" vs.

Foreign press "a trick to increase whaling sales"


It has been five years since Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC, an international organization that oversees whale conservation). 



Although whaling is now legal in Japan, annual consumption of whale meat peaked in the 1960s and has since declined steadily.

Because there were other substitutes, such as beef. 



According to actual Japanese government data, chicken consumption in 2021 was 2.6 million tons (t) and beef was 1.27 million tons (t), while whale meat totaled only 1,000 tons (t). 



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▲ The first whale caught in Japan after leaving the IWC on July 1, 2019.


Nonetheless, Japan has made moves to revive its long-declined whaling industry. 



In 2020, a subsidy of approximately KRW 61.1 billion was paid to the whaling industry, and efforts to expand consumption of whale meat continued, such as providing whale meat as a side dish for school lunches and opening a site introducing related recipes or restaurants. . 



Recently, even a vending machine that allows you to easily pull out and eat whale meat in one pack at the touch of a button has been launched. 



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▲ Whale meat vending machine 


Local media said that the vending machine installation was "to protect the traditional whaling industry," and that "we plan to increase domestic consumption first so as not to lose the unique food culture." 



On the other hand, there are voices of criticism mixed with concern, saying that Japan's move is "a desperate sales ploy by the declining whaling industry." 



The British daily Independent said, “As whale meat consumption in Japan has declined significantly over the past 50 years, the industry has been trying to show the government a business model for maintaining the whaling industry.” is an attempt," he pointed out. 



"Most Japanese have never eaten whale meat," Katrin Mathis, an activist with WDC (Whale and Dolphin Conservation), told CNN. "How can you call it a national culture where no one participates? Can you?” he asked.



(Photo = CNN website capture)