Japan's chief whaling negotiator confirmed Monday its ships would return to the Antarctic this year, despite a call by global regulators to provide more evidence that the hunt has a scientific purpose.
Joji Morishita said the whole debate about whether or not Japan should be killing the mammals had long since moved away from science and into politics.
The scientific committee of the International Whaling Commission said Friday that Japan had failed to give enough detail to explain why it wanted to kill almost 4,000 minke whales in the Antarctic over the next 12 years.
Despite international disapproval, Japan has hunted whales in the Southern Ocean under an exemption in the global whaling moratorium that allows for lethal research.
It makes no secret of the fact that meat from the mammals -- killed ostensibly for research -- is processed into food, and says the whale population in any case is big enough to allow sustainable whaling.
"There is no definite conclusion in the report itself... which is not so surprising in the IWC, because as we know very well the IWC is a divided organisation," Morishita told reporters.
"Because of this division, even the scientific committee is always having difficulty of coming up with some kind of a conclusion.
"Still... we will try to provide as much scientific research as possible and try to get" approval from the scientific committee for their go-ahead.
"But this could be a never-ending story. Well this has been a never-ending story," Morishita added.
Asked whether Japanese ships would hunt in the Southern Ocean later this year, he said Tokyo's position had not changed since an announcement on Friday.
Japan does not need permission from the IWC to press on with its "lethal sampling" hunt in December, as it is ultimately up to individual countries to issue permits for whaling on scientific grounds.
However, Tokyo is always keen to appear to be complying with international rules.
Japan believes the world's whale population, especially the minke stock, is sizeable enough to accommodate a return to sustainable whaling, putting it at odds with campaigners and anti-whaling nations.
It accuses opponents of being emotional about whales and disregarding what it says is evidence to support its position.
Last year, the highest court of the United Nations, the International Court of Justice, ruled that the annual Southern Ocean expedition was a commercial hunt masquerading as science to skirt the international moratorium.
Morishita said regardless of whether or not there was a market for whalemeat in Japan, the principle of hunting whales was important because banning the killing of one animal instead of another was "strange logic".
"If you keep on like this, I worry that a country which has international political power could impose its standards and ethics on others," he said, calling it "environmental imperialism".
"For example, if India becomes the world's number one power and starts to say 'Don't eat beef', what shall we do?"
AFP
Tue Jun 23 2015
![Japan confirms plan to resume whale hunt Japan confirms plan to resume whale hunt](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/http://img.astroawani.com/2015-06/61434968703_JAPANWHALEHUNT.jpg)
Japan believes the world's whale population, especially the minke stock, is sizeable enough to accommodate a return to sustainable whaling.
Niaga AWANI: [Transisi tenaga] Cabaran besar menanti Malaysia
Fokus perubahan tenaga yang Malaysia mahu laksanakan hadir dengan cabaran yang besar dan memerlukan bukan sahaja iltizam politik, sebaliknya sistem utuh dan kerjasama pelabagai pihak khususnya sektor korporat.
AWANI Pagi: Keselamatan kebakaran dalam pemasangan panel solar atas bumbung
[LANGSUNG] Fokus #AWANIpagi 17 Julai 2024 8.30 pagi,
Diskusi 8.30 pagi Rabu bersama PgB Muhamad Zahin Ishak, Pegawai Cawangan Perakuan Keselamatan Kebakaran, Bahagian Keselamatan Kebakaran, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia membincangkan antaranya langkah-langkah keselamatan utama yang perlu diambil semasa pemasangan panel solar atas bumbung untuk mengurangkan risiko kebakaran.
Diskusi 8.30 pagi Rabu bersama PgB Muhamad Zahin Ishak, Pegawai Cawangan Perakuan Keselamatan Kebakaran, Bahagian Keselamatan Kebakaran, Jabatan Bomba dan Penyelamat Malaysia membincangkan antaranya langkah-langkah keselamatan utama yang perlu diambil semasa pemasangan panel solar atas bumbung untuk mengurangkan risiko kebakaran.
![Guna AI, sunting gambar rakan wanita jadi bogel Guna AI, sunting gambar rakan wanita jadi bogel](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/51721173465_tblelakiditahanAI.jpg)
Guna AI, sunting gambar rakan wanita jadi bogel
Media tempatan melaporkan, sekitar 20 wanita telah diubah gambar mereka kepada foto bogel.
![Bekalan elektrik terputus, 165,000 penduduk Toronto terjejas banjir Bekalan elektrik terputus, 165,000 penduduk Toronto terjejas banjir](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/61721173401_tbfloodedsectionD.jpg)
Bekalan elektrik terputus, 165,000 penduduk Toronto terjejas banjir
Banjir juga menyebabkan beberapa kenderaan di bandar itu terkandas di jalan yang ditenggelami air berhampiran Jambatan Dundas.
![Dua warga AS antara yang ditemui maut di hotel Thailand Dua warga AS antara yang ditemui maut di hotel Thailand](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/41721172424_tbGrandHyattErawan.jpg)
Dua warga AS antara yang ditemui maut di hotel Thailand
Menurut polis Thailand, kesemua mangsa adalah berketurunan Vietnam, dengan dua daripadanya membawa pasport AS.
AWANI Pagi: Berita tumpuan & menarik di astroawani.com [17 Julai 2024]
[LANGSUNG] Fokus #AWANIpagi 17 Julai 2024 7.30 pagi,
Antara fokus Awani Pagi bersama Nursyazwani Saiful Sham & Azib Zikry
1. Keluarga Nur Farah Kartini mohon henti keluar kenyataan guris hati
2. Kim Pan-gon akui akan rindui sokongan rakyat Malaysia
3. Astro penyiar rasmi Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024
Antara fokus Awani Pagi bersama Nursyazwani Saiful Sham & Azib Zikry
1. Keluarga Nur Farah Kartini mohon henti keluar kenyataan guris hati
2. Kim Pan-gon akui akan rindui sokongan rakyat Malaysia
3. Astro penyiar rasmi Sukan Olimpik Paris 2024
![Langkah menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah antara tumpuan Dewan Rakyat Langkah menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah antara tumpuan Dewan Rakyat](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-03/51710125896_BangunanParlimen.jpg)
Langkah menoktahkan kemiskinan tegar di Sabah antara tumpuan Dewan Rakyat
Ahli Parlimen Kinabatangan, Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin meminta Menteri Ekonomi menyatakan langkah tersebut pada sesi jawab lisan.
![Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta pastikan kemampanan sektor air Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta pastikan kemampanan sektor air](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81720085306_FadillahYusof.jpg)
Kerajaan cadang perkenal pembiayaan swasta pastikan kemampanan sektor air
Kerajaan menyasarkan untuk memperkenalkan pembiayaan swasta alternatif bagi memastikan kemampanan kewangan program sektor air.
[INFOGRAFIK] Tarikh-tarikh penting Istiadat Pertabalan Yang Di-Pertuan Agong ke-17
Berikut adalah info berkenaan dengan tarikh-tarikh penting Istiadat Pertabalan Yang Di-Pertuan Agong ke-17
![Menendez didapati bersalah ke atas 16 pertuduhan rasuah Menendez didapati bersalah ke atas 16 pertuduhan rasuah](https://resizer-awani.eco.astro.com.my/tr:w-177,h-100,q-100,f-auto/https://img.astroawani.com/2024-07/81721174203_tbRobertMenendez.jpg)
Menendez didapati bersalah ke atas 16 pertuduhan rasuah
Juri di Mahkamah Persekutuan Manhattan membacakan keputusannya pada Selasa selepas berbincang selama lebih 12 jam selama tiga hari.