Taiji, the birthplace of traditional whaling, and as a town that "continues to be involved with whales in the past, present, and future," has been promoting town development that utilizes whales in a variety of ways, not just for their "catching," but also for tourism and academic research. Based on the "Taiji Town Whale and Nature Park Town Development Plan" and the "Moriura Bay Whale Sea Plan," the town and the Taiji Town Fisheries Cooperative Association will work together to promote ideal town development and return the "blessings of whales" to the residents.

Taiji Town is a peninsula-shaped town jutting out from the southernmost tip of the Kii Peninsula. The entire town faces the Kumano Sea, with a rias-type coastline shaped like a whale with its mouth open. Among the 30 municipalities in Wakayama Prefecture, Taiji Town has the smallest administrative area at 5.81 km² and a population of approximately 2,800 people. Known as the birthplace of traditional whaling, this region once thrived, with the majority of its residents engaged in whaling or whaling-related occupations. Even today, it remains one of the few regions in Japan where the whaling industry continues, centered on coastal whaling. There is a local saying, "one whale can nourish seven coastal villages," indicating that in the past, catching whales and selling whale meat brought prosperity not only to Taiji but also to the surrounding villages.
Current Mayor Kazutaka Sangen took office in 2004 and, believing that the relationship between whales and humans should evolve with the times, declared in 2006 that Taiji would be “a town that will continue its involvement with whales from the past, in the present, and in the future for all eternity.”

In the 1960s, several hundred people from Taiji Town worked in Antarctic whaling as migrant workers, and the tax revenue generated from their earnings accounted for the majority of the town's municipal tax income. The mayor at that time, the late Goro Shoji, was the uncle of the current mayor. He reportedly told the current mayor, who was then a university student, “Whales will no longer be catchable in the future. When that happens, the hundreds of people from our town who go out to work in whaling will lose their jobs. I can't sleep at night thinking about this.” Taiji Town has little arable land and offers poor conditions for industry location. Concerned about the town's dependence on a single industry, Mr. Shoji established a policy to create facilities that collect ecological and cultural materials related to whales, linking them with tourism to create local industries that would serve as a source of livelihood for residents. He developed part of the town as Kujira-hama Park and opened the world's largest whale museum within it. This was an attempt to revitalize the town by exhibiting living cetaceans while passing down the history of their ancestors to future generations. In other words, this was a concrete realization of “utilizing whales for tourism,” not only by “catching” them but also by showcasing them in captivating ways. Despite the town's poor transportation access, as many as 470,000 tourists visited, enriching the town. That is the current Taiji Town Whale Museum*. The facility, which celebrated its 55th anniversary, continues to serve as the town's tourism hub, attracting approximately 130,000 visitors annually.

We who have lived through the Heisei and Reiwa eras have established a policy to implement town development with the goal of “utilizing whales for academic purposes” in the future. Over a 30-year long-term period, we aim to transform the entire town into an academic research city dedicated to whales, creating a place where children, students, researchers, and people from around the world would want to visit at least once to conduct whale research, observe whales, and learn about their history. In other words, this is a plan to turn the entire town into a museum (eco-museum). The entire town is envisioned as a museum, featuring the region's nature, culture, lifestyle, and industries as exhibits, and preserving and nurturing them in their original locations. Visitors to Taiji can enjoy touring these sites.
These town development visions were compiled in 2006 as the “Taiji Town Whale and Nature Park Town Development Plan,” with booklets distributed to every household in Taiji Town. Additionally, in 2010, the town announced the “Moriura Bay Whale Sea Plan,” which realized one of the themes of this concept—"a town where one can encounter whales and fish.” This concept aims to promote regional revitalization by releasing whales into Moriura Bay, the gateway to the town, and through behavioral observation, breeding research, and interactions between whales and people.

From FY2010 to FY2012, the concept was refined, and from FY2013, it was put into the planning process and partial implementation of the project began. All of Moriura Bay was zoned, and it was believed that once the environment envisioned in the concept diagram was established, many researchers and tourists would certainly visit. To achieve this, necessary physical and non-physical infrastructure measures were incorporated into each zone, and plans have been steadily implemented year by year. A particularly noteworthy point is that when the town sought to use this marine area, it was approved without opposition at the 2012 Taiji Town Fisheries Cooperative Association (hereinafter referred to as the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative) general meeting; in addition, the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative did not request any compensation from the town. From FY2013, fish pens were installed in the bay to begin the breeding of small cetaceans. In FY2014, the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative launched a sea kayak business. In FY2016, a roadside station began operation in the Moriura district, which serves as the town's gateway, and the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative has been operating the facility as its designated manager. In 2020, the town installed a marine promenade and partitioning net in Moriura Bay, which enabled the start of free-range raising of small cetaceans within the bay. Currently, cetaceans are released from fish pens installed inside a 380-meter partitioning net for breeding in a semi-natural environment, attracting many tourists, including university researchers studying the whales and visitors enjoying sea kayaking where they can encounter whales. In the past, fishermen were able to earn profits by fishing in this bay, but in accordance with the town’s plan, the fisheries cooperative agreed not to conduct fishing activities there. As a result, the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative aims to participate in various projects taking place in this location, generate income, and return those profits to the fishermen and the town. Already, the Taiji Fisheries Cooperative has used profits from these projects to eliminate market handling fees for fishermen aged 75 and older and has also made donations to the town's scholarship fund.
Taiji Port is one of the “regions promoting marine industry” selected from throughout Japan. These areas are expected to promote marine industry in accordance with each region's characteristics. In Taiji Town, as previously described, initiatives are being made to foster sustainable regional development by creating new employment opportunities through tourism and research that leverage coexistence with whales while building on the town’s whaling culture. This initiative is a true example of promoting “marine industries,” and Taiji Town will continue to advance such initiatives by making the most of the blessings of whales, thereby contributing to the development of the local community.
Whales have been the town's strength in the past, and will continue to be in the present and future. This regional resource of whales brings in a flow of people from outside, and that flow of new people creates jobs, and as jobs are created the town is built up. This positive cycle represents the “blessings of whales.” However, while researchers and tourists are important, we must prioritize the needs of local residents above all else. This region is confronted with various priority issues, such as potential earthquakes and tsunamis, as well as child-rearing support. Financial resources are essential to address these challenges, which we aim to solve through the “blessings of whales.” The town and Taiji Fisheries Cooperative will work together to build an ideal town and ensure these blessings are returned to the local residents.

* Taiji Town Whale Museum website: https://www.kujirakan.jp/en/