Japan's Fisheries Authority has reported the killing of 177 whales off the country's northeast coast. The whales were caught to study the intestines of animals, Channel NewsAsia reported.
It is noted that Japanese scientists are thus collecting data on the contents of the stomachs of these mammals and have already reported on the work done to the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In total, during the mission, three whaling ships caught 43 minke whales and 134 sei whales.
Whaling for profit is prohibited by the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling. Along with this, an international agreement of 1987 allowed "to conduct research on whales with a possible lethal outcome."
Tokyo insists that it is acting strictly within the legal framework, but occasionally becomes the object of attention of conservationists. They accuse Japan of hiding behind research purposes, but in fact, whale meat is sold in the country's supermarkets.
In April, it was reported that Japanese whalers killed at least 333 minke whales as part of a government-backed environmental research program.