Japan eyes cut in research whaling

Japan plans to propose scaling back its much-criticized research whaling in the Antarctic Ocean in exchange for resumption of commercial hunting of minke whales off the Japanese coast.

Fisheries minister Hirotaka Akamatsu said the proposal, which represents a major shift in policy, will be made at a meeting of the International Whaling Commission in Morocco in June.

Akamatsu did not offer specifics on the size of the reduction.

The government is discussing the idea with anti-whaling countries, including the United States, and pro-whaling nations such as Norway.

Japan maintains that research whaling, which allows it to catch about 1,000 whales annually, is a legitimate activity sanctioned by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling.