Wednesday’s Sankei wrote that the GOJ decided at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) based on the judgement that it will be difficult for Japan to resume commercial whaling if it stays in the IWC because the organization has become dysfunctional due to the sharp differences between pro- and anti-whaling members. The paper wrote that the GOJ is planning to make an official announcement of the decision on Wednesday. Mainichi and Nikkei ran similar reports, with Nikkei quoting Fisheries Minister Yoshikawa as saying that Japan is seeking to resume commercial whaling as soon as possible and Mainichi speculating that Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga may make the announcement.