Whale meat vending machines in Japan seek to revive a dying industry

Purveyors of whale meat in Japan have an image problem. Though they promote the whale as a hallmark of Japanese culture and cuisine, the public has turned away from eating the meat, thanks to effective conservationist campaigns depicting the whale industry as cruel. Japan’s major supermarkets refuse to stock whale. Now, a prominent whaling company is unveiling vending machines offering whale sashimi and whale bacon. The company says the machines will bypass supermarkets that have cowed to foreign pressure. The World’s Patrick Winn reports.