2. The whaling industry contributed to the Japanese war effort by 

 fulfilling diverse military and civilian requirements. Whale oil normally 

 used for making soap was diverted to the manufacture of munitions and high- 

 grade lubricating oil. Meat and blubber augmented the national food supply. 

 By-products, such as bone and hide, were used as fertilizer and leather. 

 The following tabulation compares the production of whale meat, oil, and 

 by-products from the Bonin Islands in 1943 and 1944 with that of whaling 

 grounds around the four main islands of Japan: 



WHALING SEASON 1942-1943 



Whaling Grounds 



Bonin Islands 



Home Island whaling grounds 



Bonin Islands as percent 



sf home island whaling 18.1 11.4 17.1 6.8 



WHALING SEASON 1943-1944 



Bonin Islands 268 2,yi2 311 355 



Home Island whaling grounds 1,901 18,069 3,749 6,605 

 Bonin Islands as percent 



of home island whaling 12.4 13.9 7.7 5.1 



Source: Japanese Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry 



Dragging aboard a sperm whale. The first flensing 

 lenives have already been inserted. 



