Japan gets out of committee and resumes whaling

Japan is stepping out of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) so that the country can resume commercial hunting for whales.

Japan has been at odds with the international organization for some time, which allows a number of modest forms of hunting. The commercial hunting of whales has been banned internationally for more than 30 years, but Japan does scientific research on the whale every year. The country has been trying to get permission for commercial hunting for years, but a request was refused by the IWC in September.