Japan is now selling whale bacon and steaks in vending machines

A Japanese whaling company has started selling whale meat in vending machines to drum up interest in the controversial delicacy.

The East Asian nation contends whaling is an important part of its food culture, with whale meat key to saving people from starvation after the Second World War.

But the practice has become increasingly taboo in recent years due to the efforts of anti-whaling groups and conservationists.

The backlash has led the remaining whaling companies to seek increasingly unorthodox ways to market their products to a dwindling audience.

One of the firms, Kyodo Senpaku, launched its newest store in Yokohama with three vending machines and no staff, joining two others in Tokyo.

They also have plans for another outlet in Osaka, and want as many as 100 shops across Japan within five years.

Some of the whale products on sale include frozen sashimi, steak and bacon, as well as canned stews, with prices ranging from 1,000 yen (£6.20) to 3,000 yen. 

The meat is mostly caught in Japan’s waters although some of the stews might contain fin whale from Iceland, a company spokesperson said.

‘A lot of childhood memories come back (when I eat whale),’ said 80-year-old retiree Kunitake Suzuki, after he purchased some frozen whale products from the vending machine.

‘At that time, people from overseas ate beef, but many Japanese people grew up eating whale meat.’

At the launch of the Yokohama store, Kyodo Senpaku’s president Hideki Tokoro, said: ‘There are many major supermarkets that are afraid of being harassed by anti-whaling groups so they won’t use whale.

‘So there are many people who want to eat whale but can’t.’

Katrin Matthes, in charge of Japan policy for Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC), said the industry used to be heavily subsidised by the government, but they’ve been cut, causing companies to step up their promotional activities to stay afloat.

‘That’s what they’re probably trying to do – make it more popular, make the people more aware about it,’ she said.

‘Telling the people this is part of our national identity to make them increase their demand, so that they will hopefully be able to sell more.

‘That is what we think is going on right now. It’s a big question if they will be successful in the end. As of now, to us it looks (like) the people are not really being influenced by it.’

Meanwhile, the feeling from average consumers is that while they’re not entirely opposed to whale meat, they won’t go out of their way to buy it.

‘I’ve eaten whale before. I’m interested, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to come (buy it). I usually eat chicken,’ said Urara Inamoto, a 28-year-old customer service worker.

Annual whale meat consumption in Japan totalled 1,000 tonnes in 2021, compared with 2.6 million tonnes for chicken and 1.27 million for beef.

At its peak in 1962, annual whale meat consumption amounted to 233,000 tonnes.

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