This research project focuses on the contentious issue of whaling in the 21st century and attempts to make sense of Japan’s whaling policy in terms of food culture and national identity. Using a constructivist theoretical framework, I analyze the impact of the whaling issue on Japan’s bilateral relations with other nations, in both the East Asian subregion and the larger global community. The results of this paper indicate that whale meat carries a deep symbolism in Japanese national identity and that the general issue of whaling has little effect of Japan’s bilateral relations with other nations. Much of the relationship-building between Japan and other nations in regard to whaling has taken place within the International Whaling Commission, but Japan announced its exit from the Commission in December 2018
