WELLINGTON - New Zealand said Monday it will join Australia in seeking international legal action against Japan over its annual whale hunt in the Antarctic if negotiations fail to produce a diplomatic solution.
On Friday, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said his government would take Japan to international court over its research whaling program that kills hundreds of whales a year if Tokyo does not agree to stop the hunt by November.
Australia, a staunch antiwhaling nation, has long threatened international legal action.
New Zealand Foreign Minister Murray McCully said a diplomatic solution would be quicker - and therefore save more whales - than pursuing a case in the International Court of Justice at The Hague, which could take years to resolve.
Diplomatic negotiations likely will be complete within weeks, McCully said.
"We'll know soon whether we are going to achieve success that way or not," he said. "If not, the court process is obviously a serious option."
He gave no details of the negotiations, believed to revolve around having Japan end its Antarctic whale hunt while still being allowed to kill minke whales in the North Pacific Ocean.
Prime Minister John Key also backed a diplomatic resolution to Japan's whaling in the waters off Antarctica, saying New Zealand will only resort to court action if it fails.
"Either the diplomatic solution is going to be a stunning success in the next few months or it's going to be a stunning failure," Key told the NewstalkZB radio network.
In Tokyo, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano defended the whaling, saying Japan catches whales in the Antarctic Ocean under an international agreement.
Hirano reiterated Tokyo's willingness to seek a diplomatic solution to the bilateral dispute, saying, "We must make efforts on the diplomatic front until the end to seek understanding, instead of (referring the case to) the court."
After a meeting with Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada in Perth on Sunday, Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith told a news conference that Canberra would "go to the International Court of Justice" to stop Japan from continuing its so-called research whaling if the issue is not resolved at the International Whaling Commission.
"I believe research whaling is what we have conducted with approval and under an agreement in the international community," Hirano said in reference to Smith's remarks.
Q1. What fish do you like to eat? Pick up at least two fish and explain what they are like.
どの魚を食べるのが好きですか?2つ以上挙げて、どういった魚か説明してください。
Q2. Have you ever eaten whale meat? Do you like it?
鯨肉を食べたことはありますか?好きですか? ※鯨は魚ではありません。念のため(笑)
Q3. Do you think hunting whale is cruel? How about hunting dolphin? Why or why not?
捕鯨は残酷だと思いますか?イルカ漁はどうでしょう?なぜそう思いますか?
Q4. Hunting whale is a traditional Japanese culture. Do you have a interest in Japanese culture? What Japanese culture are you proud of as the Japanese? Why or why not?