Japan to start commercial whaling, widely criticized

Japan's announcement that it will renew commercial whaling next year has provoked condemnation from the international community, while Chinese experts said the move may reflect Tokyo's domestic politics.

"We have decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in order to resume commercial whaling in July of next year," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga said on Wednesday.

Japan's commercial whaling will be limited to its territorial and exclusive economic zone waters, Suga said, adding that the nation "will not hunt in Antarctic waters or in the southern hemisphere".