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Japan's request for a catch of 50 minke whales in its coastal waters is justifiable

Japan has a long history and culture associated with coastal whaling dating back more than 2,000 years. Since the IWC moratorium on commercial whaling came into effect, Japan's coastal whalers have been catching Baird's beaked whales and pilot whales. These species do not come under the jurisdiction of the IWC.
Small-type coastal whaling, though limited in scale, is of economic importance to local communities. Small-type coastal whaling in Japan also has social and cultural significance similar to that of communities engaged in aboriginal subsistence whaling elsewhere in the world.

The IWC Scientific Committee agreed in 1991 that the Okhotsk Sea and West-North Pacific minke whale stock was abundant with a population size of 25,000.
Against this background, Japan has been asking the IWC to grant its coastal whalers an interim relief allocation of 50 minke whales per year from this stock.

Small-Type Coastal Whaling Communities in Japan