A Japanese whaling research program is currently in the works; however, Australia and other countries are planning to hamper the study that is to be carried out by the powerful Asian country with a long history of killing whales for commercial purposes, The Sydney Morning Herald has learned.
In an international whaling conference on Thursday, Australia and New Zealand have won the vote to imposing stricter guidelines on the scientific study of whales in the Antarctic region.
The resolution that was reached by the commission in Portoroz, Slovenia imposes that the Japanese whaling research program should abide to the ruling of the International Court of Justice that the catching whales in the said region and that Japan doesn't really have a scientific purpose in carrying out the said program there.
The resolution against the Japanese whaling research program was adopted after a 35-20 vote.
Nevertheless, Japan has vowed to pursue its announced plan of launching a new "research" program in the Antarctic in 2015. Japan also said that it is willing to meet the strict conditions of the U.N. court for the "scientific" study.
"We will be providing and submitting a new research plan in the Antarctic Ocean so that we implement research activities starting from 2015," Joji Morishita, head of Japan's delegation, said. "And all these activities are perfectly in accordance with international law, scientific basis as well as the ICJ judgment."
Though the approval of the scientific committee isn't really mandatory in order for Japan to realize its whaling program in the Antarctic, without the consent of the body, the Asian power is very likely to face scrutiny from the U.N. and many other nations, noted Phys.org.
It can be noted that Japan was under fire recently after it allowed the mass killing of whales for meat and oil supply. Many animal protection groups denounced Japan's decision to allow such act in its country.
"Additional action is needed to encourage and persuade the government of Japan to reconcile itself to the emerging global consensus for whale conservation, instead of whale killing, in the name of science in the 21st century," said Patrick Ramage, director of the whales program for the International Fund for Animal Welfare.
"If Japan fails to come up with a plan that satisfies the ICJ decision, it will lose the Antarctic big time," IWC observer and anti-whaling advocate Paul Spong said on Japan's decision to pursue its Japanese whaling research program. "It's really quite a gamble."
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