The online retailing giant Amazon appears to have responded to pressure against whale meat sales on its Japanese language website.

The Seattle-based business, which wholly owns its Japanese subsidiary, has a stated policy of prohibiting the sale of unlicensed or illegal wildlife products including endangered species, according to the Environmental Investigation Agency.

Two whales are hauled aboard the factory ship Nisshin Maru, in a file picture. Credit:Australian Customs Service

But EIA found 147 different whale products for sale on amazon.co.jp, including some from listed endangered species, in a December survey. Others came from Japan's legally disputed research whaling program.

A check of the site early today using the Japanese symbol for whale meat found dozens of items still listed, but hours afters news of the investigation was published, the same search found no listings.