Through the first commercial whaling after a 33-year ban was lifted, whale meat is now sold in Japan at high prices.
Pieces of meat from two minke whales are sold using an auction system for 15,000 yen or around Rp1.9 million.
Japan resigned from the International Pope Arrest Commission (IWC) on June 30 to be able to commercially hunt whales. The country argues that commercial whaling can be carried out continuously.
Despite being criticized by various international groups, Japan intends to capture 227 whales for meat before the end of 2019.
All members of the IWC agreed to enforce commercial whaling in 1986 to protect the animals given that some species are endangered.
Nevertheless, Japan continued to pursue whaling in the context of scientific research. Last year 333 whales were arrested.
Critics say whale meat, which is popular in Japan and is part of the country's culture, is still served in a number of restaurants.
"Whale meat is five times lower than beef, cholesterol level is 10 times lower, and fat is two times lower than chicken," said Mitsuo Tani, a chef at one of Japan's most famous whale meat-eating restaurants, told AFP. .
"Whale meat is loaded with bsi substances. However, overseas, people don't know this," he added.
Yoshifumi Kai, head of the small type of Whale Catching Association in Japan, told Reuters news agency that the first arrest on Monday (01/07) was "good".
"We are not at all ashamed of what we do, it's natural," Kai said.
He argued that the number of whales to be captured by Japan did not pose a threat to the pope's population.
However, not all agree with him.
"This is a sad day for the protection of the world's popes," said Nicola Beynon of the Humane Society International.
He accused Japan of starting a "new era of shocking piracy capture".
In 2015, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA) claimed to find mercury substances at an unsafe level of marine pollutants in all tested meat of whales and dolphins.