Japanese whaling: Japan to unveil redesigned Southern Ocean program following International Court of Justice ruling

Updated

Japan is expected to unveil the details of its new plan to hunt whales in the Southern Ocean when it fronts the International Whaling Commission in Slovenia next week.

In March the International Court of Justice ordered the Japanese cease hunting in the Antarctic because their operations were commercial and not scientific.



Japan will comply this summer, but plans to return next year with a redesigned program that meets the ICJ's scientific requirements.

New Zealand has put forward a resolution that would incorporate the ICJ's decision into the International Whaling Commission's rules.

It would effectively prevent the Japanese from whaling in the Southern Ocean until at least 2016-17.

"Countries have been in the business of being able to issue themselves permits to go whaling allegedly for research purposes," New Zealand's foreign minister Murray McCully said.

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"Now what the ICJ has done is say 'you can't just do that without there being quite a lot of work that's going on to justify research whaling' and they've laid down some tests which we thought were good tests."

Environment Minister Greg Hunt says Australia will support the resolution and despite differences of opinion, is hopeful the commission will adopt the resolution for a permanent ban.

Our hope and our belief is this is the moment when the world can respectfully work to end the practice of commercial whaling or scientific whaling which has been justified where as in reality it's simply commercial whaling by another name Environment Minister Greg Hunt

"Australia will vote to make sure there's a permanent ban on whaling and to uphold the International Court of Justice decision," he said.

"This time we come armed with an International Court of Justice decision and our hope and our belief is this is the moment when the world can respectfully work to end the practice of commercial whaling or scientific whaling which has been justified where as in reality it's simply commercial whaling by another name."

While in Opposition Mr Hunt was a strident critic of Japanese whaling.

International law expert Don Rothwell said the minister had been "very quiet" since coming to power.

"[It is] the first diplomatic opportunity for Australia and the Abbott Government to show its colours in light of the ICJ's decision," Professor Rothwell said.

Director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society Darren Kindleysides said Australia, which filed the ICJ lawsuit, cannot afford to take a "softly, softly" approach now.

"That Japan has really disregarded the findings of International Court of Justice shows great disregard to those findings themselves," Mr Kindleysides said.

"We expect Australia must be strong otherwise all of that investment in getting such an emphatic victory at the International Court of Justice could go to waste."

NZ vows to 'defend the ground the court gave us'

The Federal Government has signalled its intention to strengthen ties with Japan and is considering buying Japanese-built submarines.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe visited Australia in July to sign an historic free trade agreement and inspect an iron ore mine in the Pilbara.

During the visit Prime Minister Tony Abbott paid tribute to Japan, saying Western Australia's multi-billion-dollar iron ore industry would not be what it is today without the trade partner's presence.

It's our neighbourhood, it's our backyard ... we don't mean any offence to our friends in Japan but we do hold a strong view and we intend to express it. NZ foreign minister Murray McCully

"The Government has been trying to trumpet its relationship with Japan during its first year in office and has sought to downplay whaling as a source of disagreement between the two countries," Professor Rothwell said.

Mr McCully said there were clear views about the idea of Japanese whaling in the Southern Ocean.

"It's our neighbourhood, it's our backyard ... we don't mean any offence to our friends in Japan but we do hold a strong view and we intend to express it," Mr McCully said.

"We intend to defend the ground that the court gave us."

Mr Kindleysides believes the Australian Government should put pressure on Japan.

"Australia has always been very clear that it's OK for friends to disagree and so a strong stance on whaling hasn't in the past cost us any of that relationship with Japan," he said.

"The is one of the most significant International Whaling Commission meetings for years.

"It's the first meeting since the landmark ICJ decision but also potentially it'll be the last meeting before Japan returns to the Southern Ocean if they're allowed to.

"Make no mistake there'll be one almighty arm wrestle going on this year."

Topics: environment, conservation, whaling, government-and-politics, world-politics, antarctica, japan

First posted