Pacific Whale Foundation researchers first visited Japan in 1987 to collect photo-identification data over three breeding seasons in an effort to help establish whale watching as a financially viable alternative to whaling. The country has remained an area of interest due to our whaling cessation advocacy work and support of whale watching as a platform for public education.

Our collaborative project, based in the waters of Okinawa Island, began in 2021 to increase our knowledge of under-studied whales and dolphins in the area, such as the endangered Western North Pacific DPS of humpback whales that come annually to breed from January to March.

While we are still in the early stages of our work in Japan, we are committed to building strong partnerships with local communities, researchers and other stakeholders to achieve our shared goals. Through the development of innovative research and monitoring programs, we hope to better understand the challenges facing whale and dolphin populations in the region and identify strategies for protecting them for future generations.