Japan e-commerce giant halts whale meat sales

Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten said Friday it has told online retailers to stop selling whale meat after a UN court ordered an end to the country's Antarctic whale hunt. The move -- which also includes a ban on dolphin meat sales -- comes as Japan said Thursday it was cancelling this year's hunt for the first time in more than a quarter of a century to abide by the decision of the United Nations' Hague-based International Court of Justice this week. Australia, backed by New Zealand, hauled Japan before the international court in 2010 in a bid to stop the yearly campaign, which has attracted widespread condemnation outside Japan. "We issued a notice to all stores on April 1, asking them to stop sales of whale meat products by the end of the month," a Rakuten spokeswoman said, according to AFP.