They could cease all whaling tomorrow and it would affect no one in any significant aspect worth mentioning. Now if they stopped harvesting tuna, I could understand any reluctance on their part, but whales? The wankers are merely annoyed that anyone else in the world objects to their playtime (whaling) and reveling in their access to a scarcity of product that the rest of civilized society has long since noted that they have no need for.
Think of it as akin to chipmunk harvesting. Granted, chipmunks are hard to hit and their meat would be a rarity on the market, but bloody hell! Would anyone's life be the worse off if they had no chipmunk meat in their diet?
I am with the 'sea-hippies' on this one.
It gets worse - from what I’ve read, whale meat isn’t actually that popular anymore in Japan. There isn’t enough of a market to support the industry, so massive amounts of it get funneled into school lunch programs or low-income food assistance. It’s supported by a government subsidy made for reasons of national pride and to keep that industry at work.