Documentary on whale food culture in Japan showing in U.S.

A documentary film about whale food culture in Japan is showing in the United States.

Keiko Yagi, who directed the movie, “Whale Restaurant,” said she struggled to find movie theaters that would screen the film as many in the country oppose the catching of whales.

From those who watched it, however, she was able to get feedback. Some expressed a wish to try whale food, Yagi said.

The film centers on daily life at a whale restaurant in Tokyo and includes scenes of a whale being dissected at a whaling company in Ishinomaki, Miyagi Prefecture. It also has interviews with Japanese and foreign experts.

“I hope to convey the charms of whale dishes. I want people to know that the number of whales has risen too much due to decreased whale catching, scientifically speaking,” Yagi, 57, said.

The film was shown in Los Angeles in mid-September. It is being shown in New York from Sept. 21 until Thursday.

It won the best Sustainable Development Goals award at this year’s Japanese movie festival in Los Angeles.

The documentary, originally released in Japan in September last year, has been screened in France, India and Greece.

Yagi made a debut as a film director in 2015 with “Behind ‘the Cove,'” which counters the critical portrayal of dolphin catching in Taiji, Wakayama Prefecture, in the documentary film “The Cove.”