Media reports in Japan say the country will go ahead with this season's whaling hunt in the Antarctic.

Today's Yomiuri newspaper is reporting the annual hunt, described by Japan as research whaling, will go ahead later this year.

A panel had been set up to discuss the future of whaling after the militant Sea Shepherd group disrupted the hunt for the past few seasons.

There were also calls for spending cuts to pay for the reconstruction in the tsunami devastated north-east.

A minority of the panel had recommended ending the program, but Yomiuri says the government decided scrapping the hunt would be against the national interest because it would giving in to obstruction.

Reports suggest the government will even boost the whaling budget by about $27 million to better protect crew members preparing for this year's hunt.