Japan whaling vessel leaves on last mission before IWC withdrawal

A whaling vessel left a western Japan port on Friday on the last mission of what the government calls a scientific research program before the country withdraws from the International Whaling Commission and starts commercial whaling from July.The No. 7 Katsu Maru of Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, departed from the town known for its whaling and dolphin-hunting culture to join several other vessels on the mission to catch minke whales between April and June.The vessels are scheduled to catch 80 whales off Miyagi and Aomori prefectures in northeastern Japan and another 47 whales off Abashiri in …READ FULL ARTICLE