Yahoo! Japan Sells Polluted Whale and Dolphin Meat Products to Unsuspecting Consumers

London—The Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) and an international coalition of animal protection and environmental groups are calling on Yahoo! Japan and its parent company, the LY Corporation, to stop selling products containing whale and dolphin meat after a new investigation found high levels of toxins in some of the nearly 1,000 cetacean food items available for purchase on the massive search engine and web portal.

In January, Yahoo! Japan’s shopping site listed 963 food products derived from whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans), including 58 pet food products containing whale meat, according to a new report by the London-based Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA).

These products come from multiple small and large cetacean species, primarily hunted domestically by Japan but also imported from Iceland and Norway, helping to prop up a damaging industry for whales and humans alike.

Of 66 cetacean products purchased by EIA from Yahoo! Japan and tested by certified laboratories in Japan between 2007 to 2025, the average mercury concentration of 2.67 parts per million (ppm) was almost seven times higher than the advisory limit set by the Government of Japan.

EIA’s report, “Ethics Over Profits—Why Yahoo! Japan must stop selling whale and dolphin products,” calls on Yahoo! Japan and the LY Corporation to immediately implement a complete and permanent ban on all cetacean product sales. The LY Corporation, which claims to be committed to biodiversity conservation, is scheduled to hold its annual meeting of shareholders on June 19.

Clare Perry, EIA’s senior ocean adviser, said: “Yahoo! Japan is likely now the largest remaining e-commerce site still selling whale and dolphin products in Japan, not only a cause of great concern regarding their conservation but clearly a major reputational risk for the company and its owner, the LY Corporation. Many cetacean products on sale contain high concentrations of mercury, a neurotoxin which can cause neurological and behavioural disorders and is a major public health concern.”

In total, 41 (62%) of the 66 Yahoo! Japan cetacean products tested at independent labs in Japan exceeded the government’s mercury advisory level of 0.4ppm. Sixteen (24%) contained mercury concentrations at least 10 times higher than the advisory level.

The most polluted product of the samples tested was dried pilot whale from Taiji, Wakayama, sold by the Ajisaku company. The sample purchased by EIA in July 2019 contained a staggering 19ppm of mercury—more than 47 times higher than the advisory limit. A second sample purchased and tested in April 2025 revealed a mercury level of 8.2ppm—more than 20 times higher than the limit.

“The world’s cetaceans are under threat as never before, with their marine habitat increasingly degraded through climate change, pollution, industrial fishing, vessel traffic, and more,” said Sue Fisher, senior policy advisor for AWI’s Marine Wildlife Program. “At the same time, cetaceans provide enormous ecosystem services, such as cycling nutrients, that are central to a functioning marine ecosystem. Yahoo! Japan must stop peddling toxic whale meat derived from a cruel, environmentally harmful industry.”

The Government of Japan has consistently flouted the global ban on commercial whaling since it was first implemented by the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in 1986. Between 1986 and 2024, Japan killed 24,899 great whales and more than 489,453 smaller whales, dolphins, and porpoises not protected by the ban.

In 2019, Japan quit the IWC—the only international body mandated to manage commercial whaling—and has since operated completely outside international regulation. Japan’s whaling fleet recently returned from its newly expanded hunt bringing back 25 fin whales. Fin whales are the second largest animal on the planet and a species listed as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species.

AWI, EIA, and five other nongovernmental organizations based in Japan, Australia, Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland have written to the LY Corporation and its owners—SoftBank Corp of Japan and Naver Corp of South Korea—urging them to commit to ending sales of products derived from whales, dolphins, and porpoises.

Ren Yabuki, director of the Life Investigation Agency, a Japanese NGO, said: “Yahoo! Japan faced strong international criticism in the past for allowing illegal trade in ivory, rhinoceros horns, tiger pelts, and other items. If it continues to allow whale meat, it is inevitable that it will face further criticism. To maintain a healthy corporate image, Yahoo! Japan must stop selling whale meat immediately.”

Naver is responsible for distributing whale and dolphin products not only in Japan but also in South Korea. Searching “whale meat” on Naver’s website reveals more than 900 online sellers, enabling users to buy cetacean meat products online.

Naver is Korea’s second largest online shopping site, as well as the number one search engine and web portal. The coalition is also calling on Naver to immediately stop promoting whale and dolphin meat products on its own platform and on Yahoo! Japan, in line with the South Korean government’s stated position opposing commercial whaling.

Editor’s Note:

1. EIA investigates and campaigns against environmental crime and abuse. Our undercover investigations expose transnational wildlife crime, with a focus on elephants, pangolins and tigers, and forest crimes such as illegal logging and deforestation for cash crops such as palm oil. We work to safeguard global marine ecosystems by addressing the threats posed by plastic pollution, bycatch and commercial exploitation of whales, dolphins, and porpoises. Finally, we work to avert climate catastrophe by strengthening and enforcing regional and international agreements that tackle short-lived climate super-pollutants, including ozone-depleting substances, hydrofluorocarbons and methane, and advocating corporate and policy measures to promote transition to a sustainable cooling sector and away from fossil fuels.
2. The seven NGOs are: Environmental Investigation Agency (UK, US), the Animal Welfare Institute (US), Pro Wildlife (Germany), OceanCare (Switzerland), Life Investigation Agency (Japan), Action for Dolphins (Australia), and Whale and Dolphin Conservation (UK)
3. Read and download “Ethics Over Profits—Why Yahoo! Japan must stop selling whale and dolphin products” at https://eia-international.org/wp-content/uploads/EIA-UK-Ethics-Over-Profits-June-2025-FINAL.pdf
4. Images of the whale products, certified mercury testing certificates, and of the Kangei Maru factory whaling ship (recently returned to Miyagi), are available on request.