Australia threatens Japan over whaling program

Japan's foreign minister said he is disappointed with Australia's threat to take his country to court over its Antarctic whale hunts, and Australia vowed to approach the International Whaling Commission as soon as possible.

The comments from Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada follow two days of talks with officials in Australia over Tokyo's research whaling program, which kills hundreds of whales a year in Antarctic waters.

The talks come amid an increasingly aggressive fight between the Japanese whaling fleet and US-based activist group Sea Shepherd, which pursues the whalers each year in an attempt to thwart the hunt.

In January, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which sank a day later.

Earlier this month, Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided, causing minor damage to both vessels.

The day before Okada's arrival, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia would take international legal action against Japan if the program was not stopped by November.

Okada said Tokyo will defend its hunt in any legal forum, saying it is an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling.

"The position of Australia and Japan on the whaling issue is different but we are in agreement that we should continue with objective and constructive discussions with a view to a diplomatic solution in the International Whaling Commission and between the two nations."

"Should action become a reality Japan will seek to represent its case to the IWC (International Whaling Commission) in supporting the fact that its activities are legal and within the convention."

Australia, a staunch anti-whaling nation, has long threatened to take Japan to court over the program. Whale meat not used for study, is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.

"The Australian Government has thought very careful about this issue and in the last week or so has come to the conclusion that Australia will pursue before the International Whaling Commission a proposal which would see whaling in the great Southern Oceans fazed out over a reasonable period of time. And that is a position we will put formally to the International Whaling Commission in the very near future, potentially as early as tomorrow."

"Very importantly we agree that, whatever our difference on whaling, we will not allow this to jeopardise the strength and the growth of our bilateral relationship which, as I describe it, is a comprehensive, economic, strategic and security partnership."

At a later press conference New Zealand Prime Minister John Key confirmed his country's stance on the issue.

"New Zealand is opposed to whaling in the Southern Ocean. We've made that quite clear. We've also made it clear our preference is to try and find and diplomatic solution. And I think that's actually what Australia wants to do, is find a diplomatic solution. That's why they're holding off from taking a court case before November. So look, if the diplomatic solution fails and the only option available is a court action, at that time we will consider whether we'll join Australia, but I wouldn't want to jump to conclusions that we would.

There's a lot of complications with it and everyone I think understands the issues. The only thing I would say is that any court case is likely to take a long time to resolve. If we really want save some whales, then coming up with a diplomatic solution is got to be a faster way of doing it than a court case."

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• Australia
• Japan
• whaling
• NZ
• IWC
• legal
• action
• news
• Asia

[Titanmk]

@SugarTomAppleRoger How come you keep diving into the past when usa doesnt whale anymore. Whats happening now is what matters! How is taking someone to court a bully boy tactic?, Matter of fact its the only peaceful way to achieve it. What would you prefer? a fist fight? maybe a war? Everyone is blaming japan because they have continued while everyone else has stopped!

like i said before its a moral thing, and austrailia are the good guys this time around.

[jimzmeys]

they shouldn't hunt in our waters get the fuck out japan stay in your own waters you ignorant twats

[IamGaijin]

Japan should listen to the people they worship, and try to emulate.

Stop eating whales, Japanese culture is obsolete even the Japanese people want to move on and evolve to be like Westerners. Drop the whale meat, you become more Western, its that simple!

[defiant18]

The Navy should be sent out to secure our borders from illegal activity's. After all that's what the navy is for, why have a navy when we don't secure our borders with it. Fucking refugees come here by the boat load japs fishing our waters FFs Gallah grow a back bone.

[juki0h]

@jimzmeys lol, now you know how it feels to be iraqi or afghanistan, us in their land.

[Chuukun1]

@Microglia1 racist

[wygram]

'research whaling program' - what could they even claim they are researching? knowing the japanese and how efficiently they live and how technologically advanced they are with everything else (like a train being late if it's 10 seconds past the time it was supposed to arrive) how could they possibly need 900 whales every year for years?

[BuclkeNutz]

They hunt under the name of collecting data and research. Wonder why they need to kill 200 hundred whales for cell samples

[TheCupcakes313]

japan is stupid thay need to stop whaleing and go eat other things like chickens and crap.what if all the whales go extinct then what are thay going to do.WHALES DON'T DESERVE ALL THISE.STOP WHALE HUNTING >.<

[ABelugaWhale]

you all are morons they want to stop wailing so they dont go extinct thats why they are trying to make it illegal everywhere