Japan confirms IWC exit, to resume whaling

Japan announced that it has decided to defy the 1986 global ban on whaling and exit the International Whaling Commission. The island nation said that it would resume whaling from July next year for the first time in 30 years and would officially announce its decision by the end of the year. Drawing flak from all quarters, Japan insisted that it would confine its hunting in the territorial waters and in the exclusive economic zone.