More than three decades since an international moratorium on commercial whaling was brought into force, Japan has withdrawn from the agreement and is poised to resume hunting the animals from next month.

The country signed up to the International Whaling Commission in 1982 and stopped commercial operations in 1986.

Since then it has continued to hunt whales, though ostensibly only for “scientific” reasons.

A fleet of five vessels is due to embark on the first commercial whaling mission on 1 July, the Japan Times reports.

They plan to separately hunt for berardius whales (beaked whales) in Japanese waters off Minamiboso, close to Tokyo, for two months.

Tragic photos show beached whales Show all 15 1 /15 Tragic photos show beached whales Tragic photos show beached whales A dead sperm whale lies on Hunstanton beach in Norfolk on 5 February 2016 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Volunteers pour buckets of water over the 80 remaining live pilot whales found stranded on remote Ocean Beach on New Zealand's southern-most Stewart island, 8 January 2003 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Contractors clear away the body of one of the dead 48ft sperm whales that were washed-up on a beach near Gibraltar Point in Skegness, Lincolnshire in 2016 PA Tragic photos show beached whales People pass by a beached whale at the Pointe de la Torche, near Brest in France on 29 November 2011 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales A woman touches the tail of a large whale carcass on Wattamola Beach at the Royal National Park in Sydney on 25 September 2018 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Beached humpback whale in California, 2015 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Dead long fin pilot whales at Hamelin Bay on Australia's west coast on 23 March 2009 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales A 36ft sperm whale lies dead on the beach at Sutton Bridge, in The Wash, off the Lincolnshire coast, where it became stranded in 2004 PA Tragic photos show beached whales A female fin whale opens its mouth as it lies stranded and alive on the beach at Carlyon Bay, Cornwall on 13 August 2012 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales The lower jaw of a dead sperm whale that stranded itself on a beach in Hunstanton, Norfolk on 5 February 2016 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales One of the five sperm whales that were found washed ashore on beaches near Skegness, Lincolnshire over the weekend on 25 January 2016 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Employees at work to skin the remains of a beached 60ft whale on 25 January 2013 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Two long-finned pilot whales are stranded on a beach in the northern French city of Calais on 2 November 2015 AFP/Getty Tragic photos show beached whales A sperm whale lies dead after becoming stranded on a beach in Hunstanton, Norfolk on 5 February 2016 Getty Tragic photos show beached whales Crowds gather as a sperm whale lies dead after becoming stranded on a beach in Hunstanton, Norfolk on 5 February 2016 Getty

At the end of August, the fleet will reportedly regroup in waters off Kushiro in the northeast of the country, and will then hunt minke whales.

Even though Japan had been only conducting “scientific” whaling expeditions, between November 2017 and March 2018, the country reported catches of a total of 333 Minke whales, of which 122 were pregnant females.

Japan’s claims of hunting the animals for research purposes have been criticised internationally as a cover for continuing commercial whaling.

The country is not licensed to hunt in international waters, or in Arctic waters, where the country has hunted whales in recent years.

Despite the return to commercial whaling, demand for whale meat in Japan is at a historic low.

In the 1960s around 200,000 tons of whale meat was consumed in Japan each year. The figure is now closer to 5,000 tons according to government data. The industry reportedly employs around 1,000 people.

Greenpeace Japan programme director Hisayo Takada, said: “Our oceans and their ecosystems are under threat from rising sea temperatures and acidification due to climate change, industrial fisheries and plastic pollution. Whales are also greatly affected by climate change, plastic pollution, oil exploration and by catch which is associated with industrial fishing. While these problems require time to be resolved, there are also threats that can be immediately removed, such as commercial whaling. Commercial whaling has been banned since 1986, by the International Whaling Commission that the Japanese government helped set up.

“It is very disappointing that Japan continues to lose the trust of the international community due to their resumption of commercial whaling. Greenpeace urges the Japanese government to abide by international law and to continue its efforts to cooperate with the international community.”