Japan's Fisheries Agency says it plans to add the fin whale to its commercial catch list. It says a sufficient stock has been confirmed.

Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission in 2019, and resumed commercial hunting of minke, Bryde's and sei whales. The fin whale is the newest addition to the list and is a much larger species.

The agency plans to hunt within Japan's territorial waters and exclusive economic zone.

It will set catch quotas based on IWC calculation methods, as it did for the other types.

The agency hopes to finalize the decision as early as July, taking public opinion into account.

But the whaling industry faces some challenges. Many countries are opposed to catching the mammals, and the Japanese population is now much less inclined to eat whale meat.