The health ministry has decided to examine the health risks associated with consuming contaminated whale meat from small whales captured along Japan's coast, ministry sources said Tuesday.
The study, Japan's first, will cover 80 animals from five species, such as Baird's beaked whales, bottlenose dolphins and Dall's porpoises.
These small whales, eaten by some Japanese, are not covered by International Whaling Commission regulations, which ban commercial whaling.
The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry will also analyze the minke and sperm whales Japan captures for research purposes and check the degree of contamination in other whale products, such as whale bacon, they said.
Whales are susceptible to toxic chemicals and heavy metals because they are at the top of the ocean food chain. Some ministry sources say that eating whale meat can be hazardous to human health. Since Japan has decided to import whale meat from Norway, which decided in January to resume exports, the ministry is hoping to obtain basic data on the general state of whale contamination, the sources said.
They said that, depending on the research results, due to be compiled next spring, the ministry may decide to issue guidelines on how to process and cook whale meat.