World Scene: Japan

Meat hikes to help whalers

Japan may raise prices of whale meat to finance the next round of its annual Antarctic hunt after activists stopped its whaling fleet from killing their target number of animals, a government official said yesterday. This season's hunt saw a series of skirmishes between the Japanese fleet and anti-whaling protesters. The fleet caught only 551 minke whales, compared with the planned catch of 850. No fin whales were caught, although it had set a target of 50, a Fisheries Ministry official said yesterday.

A Fisheries Agency official said the fleet's failure to meet its target could affect the overall financing of Japan's whaling program.