Japan's Whaling Practices: The Case for International Criminalization of Biodiversity Destruction

The legal protection of biodiversity is increasingly recognized as a matter of international concern. Nevertheless, the accelerating decline of biodiversity raises significant concerns regarding the effectiveness of existing legal frameworks, exposing structural limitations. This paper argues that the structural failures of the existing international whaling regime, as demonstrated by Japan's post-2014 conduct after the ICJ judgment ruling its whaling programs unscientific, provide a compelling legal basis for the criminalization of biodiversity destruction through the incorporation of ecocide as a fifth core crime under the Rome Statute. The International Court of Justice's 2014 landmark ruling found Japan's scientific whaling programme inconsistent with the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling, yet demonstrably failed to produce lasting compliance. This paper contends that institutional failure in biodiversity protection is characterized by weak enforcement mechanisms, limited regulatory scope, and a structural accountability deficit, revealed through a case study of Japan's state conduct and the International Whaling Commission's institutional capacity deficiencies.