Japan ignores Australia's whaling stance

TOKYO, May 28 (UPI) -- Japan, ignoring the threat of court action over its whaling practices in the Antarctic, said Friday the annual hunts are allowed by international law.

Japanese Agriculture Minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling authorizes whaling for scientific purposes, and that Japan uses this recognition to license its deep-water whalers, The New York Times reported.

Australian officials have threatened to go to the International Court of Justice at The Hague, Netherlands, about Japan's expeditions, arguing they violate international conventions and a 25-year moratorium on commercial whaling.

"We want to see an end to whales being killed in the name of science in the Southern Ocean," Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said.

The whaling season typically begins in November or December, the Times said.

Garrett and Attorney General Robert McClelland said in a joint statement Australia's stance against Japan, a major trading partner, demonstrates the government's "commitment to bring to an end Japan's program of so-called scientific whaling," the Times reported.

"I do not wish to harm Japan-Australia relations overall, but I hope to assert that what's wrong is wrong," Akamatsu said.

Last season, Japan killed about 500 whales in the Antarctic and about 300 in the Pacific, the Times said. In addition, several Japanese cities participated in coastal whaling and dolphin hunts.