Jun Akamine is a professor at Hitotsubashi University. With support from SJSF Japan, he set out to strengthen international networks in whaling history and whale studies.
He and his colleagues took part in Whales and Humans: Past Entanglements and Current Relations (WH2026) at the University of Iceland, and in the 11th Conference on Cetacean Studies at the Húsavík Whale Museum. WH2026 brought together more than 20 researchers, from junior to senior scholars, who discussed whaling history across countries and disciplines.
The conversations will continue beyond Iceland. The research discussed at WH2026 is planned for publication by a university press, and the network formed there is expected to lead to Whales and Humans 2029 in Tokyo.
Photos: Jun Akamine
