Researcher Junko Sakuma said the Japanese government was now doing everything it could to ensure whaling continues.
Advertisement
Todd McClay, revenue minister in New Zealand, also called on Tokyo to postpone the hunt until the IWC has had a chance to discuss Japan’s proposals at next year’s annual conference.
“Australia strongly opposes the decision by Japan to resuming whaling in the Southern Ocean this summer”, Hunt said. Environmental activist group Sea Shepherd warned Japan on Sunday against resuming whale hunts in the Antarctic and called on the Australian government to intervene. Last yr, Japan did go to the Antarctic, still its determination didn’t contain killing any whales. Despite worldwide disapproval, Japan has hunted whales in the Southern Ocean under an exemption in the global whaling moratorium that allows for lethal research.
Senator Brandis told the Senate on Monday the government was very disappointed by Japan’s decision, and had made representations at the highest level. “Japan can not unilaterally decide whether it has adequately addressed the [scientific] questions”.
“In light of the fact the [research program] has been going on since 2005, and has involved the killing of about 3,600 minke whales, the scientific output to date appears limited”, said presiding judge Peter Tomka of Slovakia. “We would like to remind the Japanese government that the whales of the Southern Ocean are protected by global law, by Australian law and by Sea Shepherd”, chief executive Alex Cornelissen said. Citing the islands in the South China Sea that are now disputed by China and the Philippines, and awaiting United Nations arbitration, Kingston says the losing party can ignore the United Nations decision by citing Japan as a fellow flouter of the law. “Any violation of the sanctity of the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary or the Australian Whale Sanctuary will be regarded as a criminal act”.
The Sea Shepherd ship Steve Irwin, now docked in Melbourne, Australia, has been undergoing preparations for the organization’s second campaign to target illegal toothfish operators in the Southern Ocean.
Australia won a case against Japan past year in the worldwide court of justice.
Japan’s whaling fleet is preparing to leave for the Antarctic for a three-month hunt, despite protests from opponents who say Tokyo has not proved that whales need to be killed for research.
Japanese media had earlier reported the government planned to resume the hunts-though details of the exact timing were unclear-which drew strong reaction. It accuses critics of sentimentality and disregarding scientific evidence about sustainability. It will also get into direct discussions with Japan.
A minke whale on the deck of a whaling ship in the Antarctic Ocean on November 18, 2014.
Advertisement
Australia, which brought the International Court of Justice case against Japan, said it might send a boat to shadow the Japanese fleet.
