Japan cannot unilaterally decide to start whaling in Antarctica again against the advice of scientists, says the environment minister, Greg Hunt.



Japan is set to ignore an international court of justice ruling that last year prompted Tokyo to cancel the bulk of its whaling for the 2014-15 season.



The Japanese Fisheries Agency has notified the International Whaling Commission that it will resume whaling in the 2015-16 season under a revised plan.



“Australia strongly opposes the decision by Japan to resuming whaling in the Southern Ocean this summer,” Hunt said.



The commission is reviewing the science behind Japan’s revised plan and has raised serious concerns.



“Japan cannot unilaterally decide whether it has adequately addressed the scientific committee’s questions,” Hunt said.



The plan, which calls for cutting annual minke whale catches by two-thirds to 333, is scientifically reasonable, Japan says in a document filed with the IWC.



Hunt said the prime minister, Malcolm Turnbull, and the foreign minister, Julie Bishop, have also directly told Japan that Australia does not support whaling.



“Australia will continue to pursue the issue through the International Whaling Commission and in direct discussions with Japan,” he said.



Greens senator Peter Whish-Wilson said the government has gone silent on Japan’s whaling.



“Time and time again the Greens have told them simply relying on the International Court of Justice result will not be sufficient to put an end to illegal Japanese commercial whaling,” Whish-Wilson said.



“But the government ignored our warnings and now we are back where we started.”



Japan began what it calls scientific whaling in 1987, a year after an international whaling moratorium took effect. Japan has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is part of its food culture.

Labor’s environment spokesman, Mark Butler, condemned Japan’s “disgraceful” decision.



“These whales are not being killed for scientific purposes and Japan’s activities should cease immediately,” he said.



Butler said Japan’s decision to ignore Australia’s concerns reflected poorly on the government’s diplomatic efforts.



“Japan is a friend of Australia and the government should be taking every reasonable step to make Australia’s strong views on this matter known,” he said.

Director of the Australian Marine Conservation Society, Darren Kindleysides, called on Turnbull to stand up to Japan.

“Not only are the whalers breaching international law, the whaling will take place in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary,” Kindleysides said.

“Once again, the Australian government must step up and challenge the Japanese government’s illegal whaling. Japan’s Antarctic whaling has failed the test of international law, and the test of science, yet the hunt could resume within weeks.

“With time is running, [Turnbull] must tell the Japanese prime minister in no uncertain terms to keep their whaling fleet in port.”