| 1904: | Norway starts whaling in the Antarctic Ocean |
| 1930: | Whaling experts meeting is held under the sponsorship of the League of Nations (Berlin). 200 whaling ships of 41 fleets go whaling including Norway's 27 fleets. 37,438 whales are caught in total (BWU). Whale oil prices plunge. |
| 1931: | International Whaling Convention (Geneva Convention for Whaling) is signed. 26 nations including Norway, U.K., U.S., and Argentina sign the convention. However, Japan, Germany and Russia do not sign it. |
| 1934: | Japan operates test whaling in the Antarctic Ocean (Japan operates whaling every year after this). |
| 1936: | International Whaling Convention comes into effect. |
| 1937: | International Whaling Meeting is held. International Whaling Convention by 37 nations (Japan does not attend it). Hunting of bowhead whales and female whales with baby whales is banned in all the sea areas. |
| 1938: | International Whaling Meeting is held. Japan attends the meeting as an observer. Japan's share in the market is about 10%. |
| 1939: | International Whaling Meeting is held (Japan does not attend it). |
| 1940: | The results of catch reach the record high |
| 1945: | The World War II ended |
| 1946: | Japan goes whaling in the Antarctic Ocean under the occupation of GHQ. (2 fleets) The whaling industry establishes the Institute of Cetacean Research. Dec., 1946: 15 nations sign the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. International Whaling Commission (IWC) is established. |
| 1947: | The 1st Annual meeting of IWC is held. The operation period and the limit of taking are regulated. |
| Hunting of gray whales is banned. |
| 1948: | The Fisheries Agency of Japan establishes the Japan Whaling Association |
| 1950: | Whale meat is oversupplied in Japan |
| 1951: | Japan signed the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. |
| 1952: | Whaling in the northern-sea is reopened. There are disputes over evaluation of whale resources, which is referred to as "Whaling Olympics": The limit of taking of 14,500 BWU is advised at the IWC annual meeting. |
| 1956: | Japan enters into the age of 5 whaling fleets. Buy-up of foreign fleets started. |
| 1957: | The picture of Japan vs. Europe is established. 3 Japanese whaling companies compete each other. |
| 1959: | The number of taking per fleet reached the record high after the World War II. Norway and Holland withdraw from IWC. Japan is in the age of 7 fleets. Abolition of the Olympic System. |
| 1960: | Each nation voluntarily declares the number of taking. Norway and Holland rejoin IWC. |
| 1961: | Each nation goes whaling with voluntary declare. IWC starts full-fledged survey of the resources. |
| Meanwhile, the prices of whale oil plunge. Reduction of taking is insisted (by Norway, Holland, and U.K.) to improve the market conditions of whale oil (-50% of the previous year), however, Japan and Soviet Union are opposed the reduction. |
| 1962: | Country-by-country allocation is enforced. IWC resolves to accompany an observer on the mother ship. Norway and U.K. close the whaling base in the South Georgia Islands (the south end of South America). |
| 1963: | Hunting of humpback whales is banned in all the sea areas. UK and Holland quit whaling. (3 Japanese companies jointly purchase their fleets.) |
| 1964: | IWC cannot decide the limit of taking. Japan starts base-system whaling in the Falklands Islands (not regulated by IWC). 195 whales (sperm whales are not regulated by IWC). Hunting of blue whales banned in all the sea areas. 3 Japanese companies jointly purchase the Dutch fleets. 1965: The limit of taking for Japan is decided as 2,340 BWU. Five fleets go whaling where the profitable line per fleet is 500 BWU; Non-regulated 3,071 sperm whales are caught. |
| 1966: | The meat of sperm whales is oversupplied. The prices of whale oil starts to fall. Nippon Suisan withdraws from base-system whaling in the Falklands Islands. Hunting of humpback whales is banned in all the sea areas. Hunting of blue whales banned in all the sea areas. |
| 1967: | The Fisheries Agency of Japan establishes the Cetacean Resource Research Laboratory in the National Research Institute of Far Sea Fisheries. |
| 1968: | Test whaling is operated and 600 minke whales are caught. Some fleets hunt exclusively sei whales. |
| 1969: | The prices of whale oil jump again. Japanese whale oil is bought at high prices due to poor catch of herring and anchovies, and shifting of whale oil produced by Soviet Union from export for Europe to domestic market. |
| 1970: | Munched fleshes of Walleye Pollack become a major raw material of fish sausage replacing whale meat. |
| 1971: | Test whaling of minke whales is operated. Kyokuyo Hogei changes its firm name to "Kyokuyo". |
| 1972: | Hunting of minke whales is corporative. Norway withdraws from the Antarctic Ocean. |
| 1973: | BWU system is to be abolished from the 1974/75-harvest season. The limit of taking is set by type of whales. |
| 1976: | Hunting of fin whales is banned in the North Pacific Ocean and the Southern Hemisphere. Nihon Kyodo Hogei is established. Import and export of whale products are regulated within the member nations. |
| 1978: | Hunting of sei whales is banned in the North Pacific Ocean and the Southern Hemisphere. IDCR visual survey is started. |
| 1979: | Mother-ship system whaling is stopped excepting minke whales. The Indian Ocean is named as a sanctuary for whales. The incident of the Sierra, a pirate whaling ship is uncovered. |
| 1982: | Hunting of sei whales is banned in all the sea areas. Commercial whaling moratorium is adopted. |
| 1985: | Commercial whaling moratorium is enforced. Meanwhile, Japan protests against the moratorium and goes whaling (Former Soviet Union respects the moratorium). |
| 1986: | Hunting of fin whales is banned in all the sea areas. Hunting of Bryde's whales is banned in all the sea areas. Hunting of minke whales is banned in all the sea areas. |
| 1987: | Japan withdraws objection to the commercial whaling moratorium after negotiating U.S., and shifts to "scientific" whaling (preliminary examination). |
| 1988: | Japan quits scientific whaling (preliminary examination) of minke whales. |
| 1989: | Japan conducts full-fledged scientific whaling of minke whales. |
| 1993: | IWC annual meeting is held in Kyoto |
| 1994: | A sanctuary for whales is set in the Antarctic Ocean area. Japan increases the number of taking by 100 whales for scientific whaling in the Antarctic Ocean area. |
| 1995: | Japan starts "scientific" whaling in the northwestern Pacific Ocean. |
| 2002: | IWC annual meeting is to be held in Shimonoseki. |
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