SEA MAMMALS IN JAPAN: WHALES, SEALS AND THE DANGEROUS, HORNY DOLPHIN

WHALES AND JAPAN

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shopping mall whale in Osaka The Japanese have been hunting whales for more than 1,000 years. There are dozens of religious ceremonies, shrines and festivals that incorporate whales in some way. Whalebone sticks, for example, are used to strike bells at Gion Matsuri festival in Kyoto. One bell ringer said that plastic replacement don't produce as nice a sound as the whalebone varieties.

The whaling industry has lot a political clout in Japan and is strongly supported by nationalists and right wing extremists, who call the denial of the Japanese right to eat and hunt whales “cultural imperialism.” Some whaling towns still have towers dedicated to souls of whales and lookout towers used to spot them offshore.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, the largest sperm whale ever (68 feet) was caught off the Kuril Islands in 1950 in waters claimed by Japan. A whale that was found stranded in shallow waters off Tsunoshima island in Hohokkucho was identified as a new species: the Tsunoshima whale. The whale found was 11 meters long and had a jaw and DNA that were unique.

In March 2007, a fisherman was killed when the boat he was in was struck by an injured whale during an attempt to rescue the animal. The 15-meter-long whale had been spotted in three-meter-deep water. During an attempt to save the whale by moving it to deeper water with a rope the whale thrashed violently and struck the boat, which had three people on aboard. The three were thrown into the sea. While two were rescued immediately, the body of the victim--58-year-old Noriyuki Yamamoto--could not be found. His body was discovered about two hours later. The whale was able to swim from the shallow water on its own.

Good Websites and Sources: Whales Whales on the American Cetacean Society Website acsonline.org ; Whale Pictures whales.org.au/gallery ; Whale Watching in Japan Ogasawara whale watching Ogasawara whale watching ; whale watching in Okinawa Kerama Islands whale watching Whaling International Whaling Commission iwc.int..org ; Japan Whaling Association whaling.jp/english ; Japan Fisheries Agency Whaling Page jfa.maff.go.jp ; Anti-Whaling Activists: Sea Shepherd seashepherd.org ; Greenpeace Japan greenpeace.or.jp ;

Whale Species Found in Japanese Waters

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whale at Hanada Airport in Tokyo Baleen Whale Species Found in Japanese Waters
North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) listed as Endangered by the IUCN
Common minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) listed as Endangered by the IUCN
Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Omura's whale (Balaenoptera omurai) listed as data deficient by the IUCN
Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) listed as Endangered by the IUCN (no recent records in neighbouring waters)
Fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN
Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (regular sightings in the Ogasawara Islands and Okinawa)
Grey whale (Eschrichtius robustus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (occasional sightings of western subpopulation) listed as Endangered by the IUCN) [Source: Wikipedia]

Toothed Whale Species in Japanese Waters
Orca (Orcinus orca) listed as data deficient by the IUCN
Pygmy killer whale (Feresa attenuata) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
False killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens ) listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN
Short-finned pilot whale (Globicephala macrorhynchus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN vagrant
Sperm whale (Physeter macrocephalus) listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN
Pygmy sperm whale (Kogia breviceps) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Dwarf sperm whale (Kogia sima) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Cuvier's beaked whale (Ziphius cavirostris) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Baird's beaked whale (Berardius bairdii) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Sato's beaked whale (Berardius minimus ) listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN
Indo-Pacific beaked whale (Indopacetus pacificus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Hubbs' beaked whale (Mesoplodon carlhubbsi) listed as data deficient by the IUCN
Blainville's beaked whale (Mesoplodon densirostris) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN*
Ginkgo-toothed beaked whale (Mesoplodon ginkgodens) listed as data deficient by the IUCN
Stejneger's beaked whale (Mesoplodon stejnegeri ) listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN
Melon-headed whale (Peponocephala electra) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN [Source: Wikipedia]

New 'Beaked' Whale Species Discovered off of Japan

Berardius minimus (top) and Berardius bairdii (bottom)

In 2019, it was announced that a new 'beaked' whale species had been discovered off the Japanese coast. Danielle Demetriou wrote in The Telegraph: “A small black whale found in Pacific Ocean waters off the northern coastline of Japan has been identified by scientists as a new species. Whalers based in Japan’s northernmost island Hokkaido are thought to have long been aware of the existence of the beaked whales, referring to them by a local name karasu, meaning “crow”. Scientists from the National Museum of Nature and Science at Hokkaido University have confirmed that the rare whales are a species that has never been formally identified. [Source: Danielle Demetriou, The Telegraph, September 6, 2019]

“Their findings were based on the examination of several deceased specimens, including DNA testing, which led to the cetaceans being officially named the Black Baird’s beaked whale, or Berardius minimus (B. minimus). Professor Takashi Matsuishi, from the Fisheries Sciences faculty at Hokkaido University, told Science Daily: “There are still many things we don't know about B. minimus. We still don't know what adult females look like, and there are still many questions related to species distribution, for example. We hope to continue expanding what we know about B. minimus.”

“Beaked whales are known to be low profile, with a capacity to dive for long periods and a preference for deep waters, which means their behaviour has not been as well documented as many other cetaceans. Researchers reportedly tapped into the Marine Mammal Stranding networks, which shares information among scientists about stranded or deceased marine mammals. They subsequently collected six stranded beaked whales along the Japan’s northern coast off the Okhost Sea before conducting in-depth analysis of their make-up. “Just by looking at them, we could tell that they have a remarkably smaller body size, more spindle-shaped body, a shorter beak, and darker color compared to known Berardius species," added Tadasu Yamada, a member of the research team and curator of the National Museum of Nature and Science.

White Orcas Spotted Off Hokkaido

Orcas (killer whales) used to inhabit the seas off Hokkaido in great numbers but then for a long time they were rarely seen after they were indiscriminately hunted during World War II. Now pods with 10 or so members are regularly spotted in seas off Shiretoko Peninsula from spring to summer. In July 2021, whale watchers in Japan saw a pair of white orcas swimming side by side in a pod off the coast of of Rausu in Hokkaido. Harry Baker wrote in Live Science: The pair and their pod were spotted by a group on a Gojiraiwa Kanko Whale Watching boat. The white coloration of orcas can be the result of either albinism or leucism. "Albinism is caused by defects of melanin production and equally affects the whole skin, fur and eyes," Erich Hoyt, a research fellow at Whale and Dolphin Conservation (WDC) in the U.K., told Live Science. "Leucism results from defects in pigment cells and can be patchy." [Source: Harry Baker, Live Science, July 28, 2021]

white orca off Hokkaido

Albinism in orcas is the result of inbreeding, but there is no clear evidence to suggest that this negatively impacts the killer whales in any other way, Hoyt said. Leucism is the result of a random genetic mutation and also doesn't seem to impact the orcas' health, according to WDC. "The homogenous creamy yellowish coloration in these killer whales would indicate albinism," Hoyt said. However, the only way to tell for certain would be to see their eyes (which are not visible in the images); pink eyes would mean the killer whales are albinos, he added.

As a result of being white, both orcas have very visible scratch-like markings, known as rake marks, across their bodies. These marks are caused by the teeth of other orcas, most likely as a form of playing rather than actual fighting. "The black orcas have marks too, but you can't see them as well," Hoyt said. Even so, the white orcas in the most recent photos have an "exceptionally large number of markings," he added.

It is unclear exactly how many white orcas exist across the globe, but certain populations are known to have more white individuals than others. "Roughly 1 in 1,000 orcas in the western North Pacific [are white]," Hoyt said. "That is probably the highest ratio anywhere in the world." In 2016, Hoyt and others published a study in the journal Aquatic Mammals highlighting the unusual abundance of white orcas in the region.

That North Pacific population is found primarily in Russian waters, but some are also transient — an ecotype or subspecies of killer whales that have a wide geographical range — meaning they could have made the trip to northern Japan. "These Hokkaido orcas with two white individuals may well be a group coming from adjacent Russian waters," Hoyt said, "but we don't know."

Whale Watching in Japan

Killer whales used to inhabit the seas off Hokkaido in great numbers but then for a long time they were rarely seen after they were indiscriminately hunted during World War II. Now pods with 10 or so members are regularly spotted in seas off Shiretoko Peninsula from spring to summer.

Whale Watching Tours are organized by several groups in Naha and Zamami on Okinawa, including the Zamami Whale Watching Association, which uses relatively small boats and dispenses with the unnecessary land tours of the island. A two-hour tour costs about ¥5,000 person and leaves from Zamamai on the Keram islands, which is reached by a one-hour high-speed ferry that leaves from Tomari Port in Naha at 9:00am and cost about ¥5,000 for a round-trip ticket.

Every year between January and April, hundreds of humpback whales migrate through the area. The humpbacks have only been seen in the area since the mid 1990s but about 270 of them have been counted in the peak season. Humpbacks come to the Kerama islands come between January and March to raise their young. In April they head north to feed. The boat sometimes takes about an hour to reach the place where the humpbacks hang out. Other times they are spotted in a few minutes.

The trips involve going to a spot where whales are usually seen and waiting. When a whale is spotted the boat races off for a closer look, but always maintains a distance of greater 100 meters. The whales rarely dive for more than 15 minutes so when one dive the guides does his best to predict where it will show up next. Website: whale watching in Okinawa visitokinawa.jp

Tokashiki Island (reached by ferry from Naha) is the largest island in the Aja group. Humpback whales breed off the coast here from January to April, after migrating from Alaska. Whale watching tours are offered about $75 a head. In the old days humpbacks were common here and then disappeared as a result of whaling. In the 1990s they returned and their numbers have been steadily increasing since then. A few years ago rules were passed that limited the number of whale watching boats so the whales wouldn't be harassed.

Dolphin and Porpoise Species in Japanese Waters

Porpoise Species in Japanese Waters
Narrow-ridged finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis) listed as Endangered by the IUCN
Harbour porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN [Source: Wikipedia]

Dolphin Species in Japanese Waters
Rough-toothed dolphin (Steno bredanensis) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus ) listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN
Common bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Striped dolphin (Stenella coeruleoalba) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Spinner dolphin (Stenella longirostris) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (common around the Ogasawara Islands)
Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus capensis) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Short-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Fraser's dolphin (Lagenodelphis hosei) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Pacific white-sided dolphin (Sagmatias obliquidens) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Northern right whale dolphin (Lissodelphis borealis) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN
Risso's dolphin (Grampus griseus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN

In April 2014, a group of about 500 dolphins was spotted off the coast of Kyogamisaki, Kyoto Prefecture in the Sea of Japan.

Swimmers Injured in Sexually-Frustrated Dolphin at Japan Beach

Four swimmers were injured by what described as a “sexually-frustrated” dolphin a few meters off Suishohama beach in the town of Mihama, Fukui prefecture. One man, in his 60s, suffered broken ribs and bites to his hands after a dolphin rammed him. Another man, in his 40s, sustained arm bites in a separate incident at the same beach on the same morning. Two more people were injured by the mammals later in the day. The incidents brought the total number of such attacks to six at Fukui for the year, local police. Signs were put up telling swimmers to avoid approaching or touching the mammals.[Source: BBC, July 16, 2023]

A year later, Nicola Smith wrote in The Telegraph: A lonely dolphin acting out of sexual frustration is believed to be the culprit behind a spate of attacks on swimmers in Japan this summer. Since July this year, 18 people have been hurt in dolphin attacks near the seaside town of Mihama, with some requiring dozens of stitches. Posters warning beachgoers of the menace feature an open-mouthed dolphin baring razor-like teeth. It says that the mammals “are known to be dangerous to humans” and to get out of the water if they are seen nearby.[Source Nicola Smith, The Telegraph, August 26, 2024]

Japan’s problematic mammal is believed to be a solitary male bottlenose dolphin, who may also be responsible for injuring swimmers in 2022 and 2023, and trying to press his genitals against them. Putu Mustika, a lecturer and marine researcher at James Cook University in Australia, told The New York Times that dolphins can inadvertently harm humans by dint of their sheer strength when acting out mating behaviours. “Dolphins, when they are mating, can be very wild,” she said, adding that the act of lunging on top of a human could be seen as a sexual act and a sign that the dolphin was “horny, lonely”. This dolphin could also be naturally aggressive or aggravated by humans trying to touch it, she said.

Experts believe a single dolphin, which may be sexually frustrated, could be responsible for at least 15 attacks on swimmers in Fukui in 2024, five in 2023 and one in 2022. The Japanese authorities have tried a number of measures to try to stop the attacks, including installing dozens of underwater acoustic devices designed to deter dolphins or limiting swimming hours on some beaches.

Japanese Dolphin Attack Victim — I’m Lucky to be Alive,

Takuma Goto had been swimming off the town of Tsuruga in central Japan with a friend in the summer of 2024 when they were attacked by a lone dolphin. Julian Ryall wrote in The Telegraph: He and a friend had been swimming at Crystal Beach before going around 20 metres offshore when the dolphin attacked, first targeting his friend Alarmed at his friend’s cries, Mr Goto turned to see what was happening as the dolphin’s head breached the surface. “I knew it was not a shark, but it came straight at me,” he said, adding that he did nothing to attract or antagonise the dolphin, but that it nonetheless began a sustained assault. [Source Julian Ryall, The Telegraph, October 19, 2024].

“It attacked me and bit me,” he said. “It kept attacking me and I genuinely believed that I was going to die. I was most worried that I was going to be dragged under the water and further out to sea,” he said. A surfer eventually came to Mr Goto’s rescue as onlookers watched in horror from the beach. Once he was ashore, he washed the bite wounds with water. “The insides of my finger were popping out,” he said, and was taken to a nearby hospital. The 23-year-old, who works in financial sales, was left with a massive gash on his left index finger, which required five stitches, as well as bite wounds to his left wrist and forearm and his right hand and upper arm.

Experts believe the lone dolphin may have been trying to communicate by biting, a common trait among male mammals. “It appears that the multiple incidents have been committed by the same individual dolphin,” said Mari Kobayashi, head of the marine biology laboratory at Tokyo University of Agriculture. “It is believed to be a male Indo-Pacific bottlenose and we know that males sometimes communicate by biting each other, so it may be that it is trying to do this with humans,” she said. “Also, this is a species that usually lives in groups, so it is possible it is lonely”.

Experts also believe the dolphin may be sexually frustrated following reports in other incidents that it attempted to press its genitals against its victims. “Bottlenose dolphins are highly social animals and this sociality can be expressed in very physical ways,” Dr Simon Allen, a biologist and principal investigator with the Shark Bay Dolphin Research project, told the BBC. “Just as in humans and other social animals, hormonal fluctuations, sexual frustration or the desire to dominate might drive the dolphin to injuring the people it interacts with. Since they are such powerful animals, this can lead to serious injury in humans.” Dr Allen added that the dolphin may have been shunned from his own community and could therefore be seeking “alternative companionship”.

Shoichi Takeuchi, of the Tsuruga Coast Guard office, said emergency medical teams had been summoned to treat people who had been attacked over the summer, with those who had sustained minor cuts and abrasions allowed to go home, but others requiring their wounds to be disinfected and stitched. The authorities have since posted signs warning swimmers of the dangers, including a picture of a dolphin baring its teeth. “If people see a dolphin off the beach, we advise them to get out of the water immediately, to keep their distance and not try to feed them,” Mr Takeuchi said. Mr Goto says he is not taking any chances. “Whenever I look at the sea, I can’t help but think a dolphin might be out there. I’ll never go back.”

Seals and Sea Lions in Japan

Five species of seal are regularly found in Japanese waters: 1) the northern fur seal, 2) bearded seal, 3) spotted seal, 4) Stellar sea lion and 5) Kurile seal. Kurile seals are the most common. Spotted seals mothers give birth to pups in mid March on ice flows off east Hokkaido. As the weather gets warmer the seals start heading north to waters off Sakhalin Island in eastern Russia.

Kuril seal

Stellar sea lions, massive creatures that can reach three meters in length and weigh 450 kilograms. Spotted seals are seen in the Sea of Okhotsk, where they give birth on drift ice. California sea lions, much larger than their California cousins, used to be seen regularly in Japan but the are now gone, the last one seen more in the 1970s.

The Japanese name for the kuril seal is “zenigata-azarashi”. “Azarashi is a genric name for seals. “Zenigata” means “coin-shaped,” a reference to the white splotches on the animal’s skin. Closely related to harbor seals found on the west coast of North America, they breed along the rocky coast of eastern Hokkaido from Cape Erimo to the Shiretoko Peninsula. During the winter they range as far south as Tokyo Bay.

Kevin Short wrote in the Daily Yomiuri: “For thousands of years ago, pinnipeds provided a ready source of fat and protein for people living along the northern coasts. Hunters in boats harpooned these animals using a special type of weapon called a toggle harpoon. The head of this harpoon was attached lightly to the tip of the staff, and was designed to separate after being driven through the pinnipeds thick layer of fat. A line was attached directly to the harpoon head, in such a fashion that when tension was placed on line the the head rotated or “toggled.” Instead of pulling straight out through the hole, the harpoon head would then turn sideways, butting up against the hole.

Toggle harpoons have been found in archeological sites from northern Honshu through Hokkaido, the Kuril Islands and around the North Pacific rim. Pinniped hunters also lived along the high Arctic coasts along northern Siberia, Canada and Greenland.

Seal Sea Lion Species in Japanese Waters

Sea Lions and Fur Seal Species in Japanese Waters
Northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus) listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN (northern Japan)
Steller sea lion (Eumetopias jubatus ) listed as Near Threatened by the IUCN (MOE: NT)
Western Steller sea lion (E. j. jubatus) listed as Endangered by the IUCN (Hokkaidō and Shimokita Peninsula)
Japanese sea lion (Zalophus japonicus), Extinct (last recorded on Takeshima in 1975)

Eared Seal Species in Japanese Waters
Bearded seal (Erignathus barbatus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (Hokkaidō and vagrant)
Pacific bearded seal (E. b. nauticus) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (vagrant)
Ribbon seal (Histriophoca fasciata) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (northeast Hokkaidō)
Northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (vagrant)
Spotted seal (Phoca largha) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (Hokkaidō)
Harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN (MOE: NT) (Hokkaidō)
Kuril seal (P. v. stejnegeri) listed as data deficient by the IUCN (eastern Hokkaidō)
Ringed seal (Pusa hispida) listed as a species of Least Concern by the IUCN(especially northern Hokkaidō)

Tama-Chan

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duging In 2002 and 2003, Japanese became enchanted with Tama-chan, a bearded seal that foresook his usual hunting grounds in Arctic waters and choose instead to spend her time in rivers around Tokyo. She became a media star and tourist attraction. Sightings of her were top stories on the evening news. Whenever she decided to beach herself large crowds would gather, alerted of her location by cell phone messages. It is believed to that she hung around the areas because she found plentiful supplies of fish and shellfish to eat. She was named Tama-chan after the Tama River, where she was first spotted.

It wasn’t clear whether Tama-chan was male of female. She (he) was spotted mostly in rivers and canals around Yokohama, Tokyo and Kanagawa and Saitama Prefecture, where she liked to rest on the rear deck of a pleasure boat. She became so famous songs were written about her, ice cream and drinks were sold by vendors at places where people gathered to watch her. She was even given honorary citizenship to Yokohama’s Nishi Ward and a special society was established to watch over her. A religious cult announced that saving Tama-chan was paramount to saving the world.

Bakers made Tama-chan bean paste deserts. Toy makers rushed to Tama-chan stuffed toys on the shelves. A group of animals rights activists in scuba gear tried to catch her with nets because they worried about the effects of polluted water in her skin. Others were worried about power boats, There was great concern when a fish hook became lodged near her eye (after a couple of days it was gone).

Dugongs in Japan

Dugongs are found in waters off Okinawa. There are believed to be less than 50 of them. They are rarely seen and little is known of their habits other than what they feed on. In 2007, dugongs living off Okinawa were listed as a critically endangered species in the Japanese Environment Ministry’s Red List.

Killing dugongs has been banned since 1993 but there are no laws to protect their habitat. They are sometimes killed in collisions with boats or are accidently caught in fishing nets. Environmentalists are concerned over about a proposal for of new U.S. military heliport on northeast side of Okinawa, which is regarded as a prime dugong habitat. In 2008, after environmentalists in Japan and the United States brought a lawsuit against the U.S. Defense department, a federal court in California ordered the Pentagon to study the effect of the heliport on dugongs.

Image Sources: Youtube, Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: Animal Diversity Web animaldiversity.org ; National Geographic, Live Science, Natural History magazine, David Attenborough books, Daily Yomiuri, Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan National Tourist Organization (JNTO), New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Smithsonian magazine, Discover magazine, The New Yorker, Time, BBC, CNN, Reuters, Associated Press, AFP, Lonely Planet Guides, Wikipedia, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website and various books and other publications.

Last Updated March 2025