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Whaling factory ship departs for Sea of Okhotsk

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, departs from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on April 18, 2026, for the season's first commercial whale hunt, in the Sea of Okhotsk.

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Whaling factory ship departs for Sea of Okhotsk

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, departs from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on April 18, 2026, for the season's first commercial whale hunt, in the Sea of Okhotsk.

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Whaling factory ship departs for Sea of Okhotsk

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, departs from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on April 18, 2026, for the season's first commercial whale hunt, in the Sea of Okhotsk.

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Whaling factory ship departs for Sea of Okhotsk

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, departs from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on April 21, 2025, for the season's first commercial whale hunt, in the Sea of Okhotsk.

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Whaling factory ship departs for Sea of Okhotsk

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, prepares to depart from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on April 21, 2025, for the season's first commercial whale hunt, in the Sea of Okhotsk.

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New whaling factory ship

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, prepares to depart from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on May 21, 2024, for its inaugural whaling voyage. The ship, operated by Kyodo Senpaku Co., was completed in March 2024, following the retirement of the Nisshin Maru in 2023.

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New whaling factory ship

The Kangei Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, departs from its home port in Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on May 21, 2024, for its inaugural whaling voyage. The ship, operated by Kyodo Senpaku Co., was completed in March 2024, following the retirement of the Nisshin Maru in 2023.

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World's only whaling factory ship retires

The Nisshin Maru, the world's only whaling factory ship, enters the port in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Nov. 4, 2023, for a retirement ceremony following its last operation.

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Factory ship of Japanese whaling fleet returns home

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The factory ship Nisshin Maru of the Japanese whaling fleet anchors at Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on April 14 after returning from the Antarctic Ocean. The fleet's five other vessels involved in what the Japanese government claims is scientific research had already returned to Shimonoseki as of April 13.

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3 Japanese whaling vessels return home from Antarctic Ocean

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Japan Coast Guard personnel check the Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 3 to determine the extent of damage sustained in a collision with a Sea Shepherd vessel in February in the Antarctic Ocean, after the ship returned to Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on April 13. The Yushin Maru No. 3 and two other ships returned after completing their whale hunt for what the Japanese government calls scientific-research purposes.

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3 Japanese whaling vessels return home from Antarctic Ocean

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Japanese whaling vessel Yushin Maru No. 3 anchored at Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on April 13 after it, along with two other whaling vessels, returned after completing their whale hunt for what the Japanese government calls scientific-research purposes. The vessel's stern was damaged in a collision with a Sea Shepherd Conservation Society vessel in the Antarctic Ocean.

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Japan fleet leaves for whale stock survey in Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru, a ship of Japan's Fisheries Agency, departs from the western Japanese port of Shimonoseki on Jan. 8, 2015, for the Antarctic Ocean to conduct a survey of whale stocks in place of an annual whaling mission that the International Court of Justice ordered the country to stop in 2014.

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Japan fleet leaves for whale stock survey in Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru, a ship of Japan's Fisheries Agency, departs from the western Japanese port of Shimonoseki on Jan. 8, 2015, while it is seen off by relatives of crew members. The ship, leaving for the Antarctic Ocean, is to conduct a survey of whale stocks in place of an annual whaling mission that the International Court of Justice ordered the country to stop in 2014.

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Japan "research whaling"

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on May 16, 2014. The vessel will take part in so-called research whaling in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with a sharply reduced quota for whale catches following a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March 2014 banning Japanese whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Japan "research whaling"

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Relatives of a crewmember see off the Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No. 2 at Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on May 16, 2014. The vessel will take part in so-called research whaling in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with a sharply reduced quota for whale catches following a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March 2014 banning Japanese whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Japan "research whaling"

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on May 16, 2014. The vessel will take part in so-called research whaling in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with a sharply reduced quota for whale catches following a ruling by the International Court of Justice in March 2014 banning Japanese whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Japan's research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Japanese research whaling ship the Yushin Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Dec. 7, 2013. Two Japanese whaling ships and a surveillance ship left the port the same day to join the mother vessel Nisshin Maru and hunt up to 935 Antarctic minke whales and up to 50 fin whales through March.

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Japan's research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Japanese research whaling ship the Yushin Maru leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Dec. 7, 2013. Two Japanese whaling ships and a surveillance ship left the port the same day to join the mother vessel Nisshin Maru and hunt up to 935 Antarctic minke whales and up to 50 fin whales through March.

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Whaling fleet returns from Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter shows Japan's three-ship whaling fleet -- (from front) the mother ship Nisshin Maru, the Yushin Maru No. 2 and the Yushin Maru. The fleet returned to the port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on April 7, 2013, after completing the season's research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.

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Whaling fleet returns from Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Photo shows the Yushin Maru, one of three ships in Japan's whaling fleet that returned to the port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on April 7, 2013, after completing the season's research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.

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Whaling fleet returns from Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi speaks at the port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on April 7, 2013, at a welcoming ceremony for Japan's three-ship whaling fleet. The fleet returned to the port the same day after completing the season's research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.

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Whaling fleet returns from Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Photo shows the mother ship Nisshin Maru of Japan's three-ship whaling fleet, which returned to the port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on April 7, 2013, after completing the season's research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean.

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Whaling fleet returns from Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Photo shows the bow of the mother ship Nisshin Maru of Japan's three-ship whaling fleet, which returned to the port of Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on April 7, 2013, after completing the season's research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean. Marks are seen on the bow of the Nisshin Maru, which was rammed by vessels of antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Shonan Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Fleet off for research whaling

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru No. 2 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Dec. 28, 2012, as part of a fleet for research whaling in the Antarctic Sea.

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Japan's whaling ships leave for northwestern Pacific

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Yushin Maru (front) and Yushin Maru No. 2 (back), a pair of Japanese whaling vessels, are anchored at Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on the morning of May 18, 2012, before leaving later in the day with the aim of hunting whales for scientific research in the northwestern Pacific Ocean through early August.

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Japan whalers return home

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Japanese whaling ship Yushin Maru No.3 returns to Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, from the Antarctic Ocean on March 21, 2011. The whalers were forced to halt so-called research whaling after obstruction by the antiwhaling group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society.

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Sea Shepherd forces Japan to halt this season's whaling

TOKYO, Japan - Photo shows the Japanese research whaling mother ship Nisshin Maru entering Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture in April 2009. Japan said on Feb. 18, 2011, it had halted its research whaling for the current season in the Antarctic Ocean because of obstructive actions by the Sea Shepherd antiwhaling group.

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Whaling ship sets off

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - The whaling ship Yushin Maru No. 3 leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on June 9, 2010, for a research whaling mission in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

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Japanese research whaling fleet leaves for Antarctic Ocean

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The Nisshin Maru, the mother ship of Japan's six-vessel whaling fleet, leaves Shimonoseki Port, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Nov. 18 on an expedition to the Antarctic Ocean that operators say is intended to undertake research on whales. It is the 21st whaling expedition carried out by the Institute of Cetacean Research, which began research whaling in 1987.

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Japanese research whaling fleet leaves port for Antarctic Ocean

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - A fleet of six Japanese ships left Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Nov. 15 on an expedition to the Antarctic Ocean that operators claim is intended to undertake research on the habitat of whales.

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Japan's research whaling ships leave Shimonoseki for Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - A woman waves at her husband as one of whaling ships carrying him leaves Shimonoseki port, Yamaguchi Prefecture, on Nov. 8 on a mission to conduct a scientific research program on whales in the Antarctic.

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LDP lawmakers inspect clam imports from N. Korea

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers visit Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture to inspect imports of clam from North Korea on Feb. 28.

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5 'Research whaling' ships leave for Antarctic Ocean

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The 7,659-ton Nisshinmaru leaves Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Nov. 12 for the Antarctic Ocean to conduct ''research whaling'' there.

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Shimonoseki-Busan sea route marks centenary of ferry service

YAMAGUCHI, Japan - The Japanese ferry Hamayu, operated by Kampu Ferry Co., at Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture.

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Whaling research vessel leaves for Antarctic

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - People bid farewell to the Japanese whaling research vessel Nisshin Maru, which left Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture for the Antarctic on Nov. 7. The research team will capture up to 440 minke whales to collect data and make a report to the International Whaling Commission, before returning to Japan next April

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5 ships sail from Yamaguchi for 'research whaling'

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The 7,575-ton mother-ship Nissin Maru leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture on Nov. 8 for ''research whaling'' in the Antarctic Ocean, with family members of its crew seeing them off. The Nissin Maru, with four other ships, will conduct the mission for six months.

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Whaling ship embarks on last voyage

SHIMONOSEKI, Japan - The 740-ton whaling ship Toshi Maru No. 25 leaves a port in Shimonoseki, western Japan, on its final voyage to the Northwest Pacific on June 28 to conduct a three-month research whaling project. The ship is about to be retired from active duty, four decades after its launch in 1962, and the city of Shimonoseki, a former whaling base in Japan, is planning to preserve it.

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Whaling ships on display at Nagasaki port

NAGASAKI, Japan - Visitors view an ice block from the Antarctic Ocean displayed on the 7,575-ton Nissin Maru, a Japanese ''whale researching'' ship at Nagasaki port April 20. Two of five ships, which returned April 4 from a ''research whaling'' voyage in the Antarctic Ocean, have been made public prior to a meeting of the International Whaling Commission due to start April 25 in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture.

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Japan's whaling ships leave for Antarctic

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Nissinmaru, the mother ship of the Japanese whaling fleet, departs from Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Nov. 6 on a six-month research expedition in the Antarctic Ocean where its crew is expected to catch some 400 minke whales. The fleet of five vessels belonging to the government's Institute of Cetacean Research will gather data such as the age of caught whales and the number and location of whales found by visual observation.

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Japanese whalers return home after capturing 440 minke

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Two Japanese whaling ships commissioned by the Fisheries Agency to survey and capture minke whales in Antarctic waters return home to Shimonoseki port in southwestern Japan on April 11. The ships are part of a fleet of five that left the port in Yamaguchi Prefecture last November and captured 440 minke whales for research purposes.

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5 Japanese whaling ships set sail for Antarctica

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Relatives wave goodbye to crew members of five Japanese whaling ships at Shimonoseki port, Yamaguchi Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Nov. 17 as they set sail for Antarctica to conduct so-called ''research whaling.'' The expedition plans to capture about 400 minke whales to collect data on the whales' age, maturity and habitation habits, according to the government. Most of the whale meat will be sold on the market.

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Coast guard ship leaves Japan for Philippines

A 2,260-ton multipurpose vessel, 97 meters in length, is anchored at Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on May 27, 2022. The ship, which the Japanese government provided to the Philippine Coast Guard, left the port for the Philippines later in the day to engage in rescue and security activities in the South China Sea along with another Japan-provided vessel of the same model already in commission.

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Coast guard ship leaves Japan for Philippines

A 2,260-ton multipurpose vessel, 97 meters in length, leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on May 27, 2022, for the Philippines. It is the second vessel the Japanese government has provided to the Philippine Coast Guard to engage in rescue and security activities in the South China Sea, with the first, already in commission, belonging to the same model.

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Coast guard ship leaves Japan for Philippines

A 2,260-ton multipurpose vessel, 97 meters in length, leaves Shimonoseki port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on May 27, 2022, for the Philippines. It is the second vessel the Japanese government has provided to the Philippine Coast Guard to engage in rescue and security activities in the South China Sea, with the first, already in commission, belonging to the same model.

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Auction of sei whale meat in western Japan

A box containing commercially hunted sei whale meat is unloaded from a whaling ship at a port in the Yamaguchi Prefecture city of Shimonoseki, western Japan, on Nov. 14, 2021. The season's first auction of the meat is set to be held at a wholesale market in the city on Nov. 16.

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Auction of sei whale meat in western Japan

A box containing commercially hunted sei whale meat is unloaded from a whaling ship at a port in the Yamaguchi Prefecture city of Shimonoseki, western Japan, on Nov. 14, 2021. The season's first auction of the meat is set to be held at a wholesale market in the city on Nov. 16.

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Japan's whaling ships leave for Antarctic

KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Nissinmaru, the mother ship of the Japanese whaling fleet, departs from Shimonoseki Port in Yamaguchi Prefecture, western Japan, on Nov. 6 on a six-month research expedition in the Antarctic Ocean where its crew is expected to catch some 400 minke whales. The fleet of five vessels belonging to the government's Institute of Cetacean Research will gather data such as the age of caught whales and the number and location of whales found by visual observation.