His remarks came amid speculation that the Australian and New Zealand ministers in charge of environmental issues would meet Tuesday with Japanese alternative commissioner to the IWC, Joji Morishita, on the sidelines of the four-day talks which began in Anchorage, Alaska on Monday.

"Japan is meeting many delegations here and we are also prepared to meet Australia and New Zealand but we have very low expectations," Inwood said, without elaborating.

Japan wants to kill 50 humpbacks this summer from stocks that migrate along the coasts of Australia and New Zealand into the tropical Pacific under its whale scientific research program.

The plan has drawn fire from the two countries as well as environmental groups concerned over the mammals' fate. Humpback whales are renowned for their acrobatic displays, drawing millions of whale watchers annually, and generating more than one billion dollars in income for coastal communities around the world, said Patrick Ramage from the International Fund for Animal Welfare.

At the opening of the IWC talks Monday, Japan said it was prepared to consider shelving the humpback hunting plan if the IWC allowed its small coastal communities in four Japanese towns to hunt minke whales.

Tokyo's compromise plan was immediately dismissed by a so-called "like-minded" coalition of anti-whaling nations Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Britain, Argentina, Germany and the United States.

The IWC's founding treaty allows whales to be killed under so called "special permits" for scientific research, issued by member governments of the commission.

The IWC has banned commercial whaling since 1986 and environmental groups say Japan is exploiting a legal loophole allowing whaling for scientific research. Japan kills about 1,000 whales a year under its scientific program then sells the meat.

It allocates Japanese whalers annual research quotas for 10 sperm, 100 sei, 50 Bryde's and 120 minke whales in the North Pacific and up to 935 minkes and 10 fin whales in an area of Antarctica designated a whale sanctuary by the IWC in 1994.

A hunt of 50 humpback whales plus an increase from 10 to 50 fin whales is scheduled to begin late in 2007. Australian environment minister Malcolm Turnbull and New Zealand's Conservation Minister Chris Carter on Monday condemned Japan's humpback hunting plan.

Japan's proposal is an "extraordinary provocative gesture to the people of New Zealand and we are asking you as a measure of goodwill to build better dialogue -- not as part of a deal but as building a better dialogue," Turnbull said.

"If there is one thing the Japanese government can do at this meeting ... it would be to drop the humpbacks from the program," he said. "It is a very, very provocative act."

He said Tokyo's humpback blitz was a "calculated" move "to undermine dramatically the standing, the affection, the relationship between the Australian and the Japanese people." Noting that Australia and Japan were key allies, he said, "Just at is it important for us not to allow the whaling issue to overwhelm all our relations with Japan, so it is incumbent on Japan to recognize that there has to be a degree of subtlety and finesse and sensitivity and empathy the way it pursues its whaling agenda."

The fate of the endangered mammals is not "a matter of horse trading and negotiations," Britain's Biodiversity Minister Barry Gardiner said, saying that the humpback hunting plan ran counter to principles of science upheld by the ICW.

Despite global outcry, Japan together with Iceland and Norway continue to push for the lifting of the 20-year moratorium of commercial whale hunting.

Japan last year won a non-binding resolution in favor of commercial whaling, but fell short of the numbers needed to overturn the moratorium.

Anti-whaling nations are said to have a slim majority this year.

earlier related report
Japan's compromise whaling plan dismissed at talks
Anchorage (AFP) Alaska, May 29 - Japan offered a compromise on Monday to break an impasse over its controversial plan to lift a 20-year moratorium of commercial whale hunting but it was flatly rejected by the other key powers.

The failure to end the deadlock threw the already polarized 75-nation International Whaling Commission (IWC) into disarray as it opened annual talks in the Alaskan capital of Anchorage on the fate of the majestic creatures.

Japan said it would consider shelving plans to hunt humpback whales in the next Antarctic season under a highly criticized research program if its request for whale hunting by coastal communities in four Japanese towns was allowed.

"We might come up with a package that will satisfy all member countries but we'd like to see acceptance of our coastal whaling proposal," said Joji Morishita, Japanese alternative commissioner to the IWC.

Japan wants to kill 50 humpbacks from stocks that migrate along the Australian and New Zealand coasts into the tropical Pacific, drawing flak from the two countries as well as environmental groups concerned over the mammals' fate.

Tokyo's compromise plan was immediately dismissed by a so-called "like-minded" coalition of anti-whaling nations Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, Britain, Argentina, Germany and the United States.

Japan's humpback hunt request is a "very, very provocative act," Australian Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull said, warning that diplomatic ties between the two allies could be affected if Tokyo proceeded with the move.

"The scale of Japan's scientific whaling program, which gets bigger every year, is clearly far beyond anything that could reasonably be regarded as necessary for scientific research," he said.

An Australian petition with 30,000 signatures protesting the Japanese plan was presented to the IWC meeting.

The fate of the endangered mammals is not "a matter of horse trading and negotiations," Britain's Biodiversity Minister Barry Gardiner said, pointing out that the humpback hunting plan ran counter to principles of science upheld by the ICW.

Japan last year won a non-binding resolution in favor of commercial whaling, but fell short of the numbers needed to overturn the moratorium.

Anti-whaling nations are said to have a slim majority this year.

The commission will decide this week whether to allow Japan's plan for traditional coastal communities to catch whales under the same rules allowing the aboriginal peoples to hunt the giant creatures.

Environmental groups deem the Japanese proposal as a form of commercial whaling but Tokyo says it is based on indigenous "subsistence" activity with "strong" enforcement, monitoring and 100 percent transparency."

Tokyo is already under fire for allegedly using research as a thinly disguised and subsidized exercise in commercial whaling.

Japanese official Morishita warned of serious repercussions if Tokyo's request was rejected amid speculations that political pressure at home could force the Asian nation out of the IWC.

"Unless we see clear, tangible progress at this meeting, my government will have a difficult time to continue at IWC ... we will be asked to reconsider our approach," he said. "The IWC is at a crucial crossroads," said Patrick Ramage from the International Fund for Animal Welfare. "The emerging global consensus is that the IWC should be driven by conservation not killing," he added.

But some groups felt that failure by key powers to engage Japan in the IWC could boomerang.

"The message they are sending is that Japan should leave the IWC," said Eugene Lapointe, president of the International Wildlife Management Consortium World Conservation Trust, a pro-sustainable use group.

The four-day meeting here would also consider a US request to renew bowhead whale hunting quotas for its native Alaskan communities as well as aboriginal subsistence hunts by Russia, Greenland and St Vincent and the Grenadines.

The United States and the other four countries seeking to renew aboriginal quotas had wanted to forge a joint package in a bid to gain swift IWC approval.

But Greenland spoiled the party as the Danish territory reportedly wanted to add a new species, humpback whales, to its quota and also expand the number of bowheads for its aboriginal hunters, they said. "Greenland's greed for whales is undermining the moratorium and whales conservation efforts and potentially sabotaging the other aboriginal request for quotas," said Kitty Block, director of Humane Society International.

earlier related report
US And Russia Win Extension Of Whale Hunting Quotas For Natives
Anchorage (AFP) May 29 - The International Whaling Commission (IWC) on Tuesday agreed to renew five-year quotas for whale hunts by Alaskan natives in the United States and the indigenous Chukotka people in Russia.

The unanimous decision was made at the second day of annual talks here of the 75-nation IWC, which manages whaling and is in charge of conservation of the large creatures.

Even though the IWC imposed a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1986, it has a policy of allowing so called subsistence hunts for natives in the United States, Russia, Greenland and St Vincent and the Grenadines to satisfy longstanding cultural and subsistence needs.

The meeting has yet to decide on the quotas for the other two countries.

Greenland's bid could come under scrutiny as the Danish territory wants to add a new species, humpback whales, to its quota and also expand the number of bowheads for its aboriginal hunters, officials said. The United States had been pushing very hard for the renewal of the bowhead whale hunting quotas for the Inupia and Yup'ik peoples of Alaska in the polarized IWC, where pro and anti-commercial whaling groups have nearly equal clout.

William Hogarth, IWC chairman and also the US chief representative at the commission, thanked IWC members states for the unanimous decision and called on them to maintain the spirit of consensus.

The scientific basis for the US proposal is good and "it is sustainable hunt and we support sustainable whaling," Japanese alternative commissioner to the IWC, Joji Morishita, said.

The US quota has been used in the past as a bargaining tool by Japan to try to gain approval for its own commercial quotas. A large number of pro-whaling countries vote with Japan at the IWC and there had been intense speculations that Tokyo this year was trying to win US support for its plan for Japanese traditional coastal communities to catch whales under the same rules allowing aboriginal peoples to hunt whales.

Green groups had warned the United States not to cave in to any pressure.

The decision to renew the particularly US quota by consensus instead of through divisive voting was significant, experts said.

Pro-whaling countries Japan, Norway and Iceland all spoke in favor of the US quota renewal but stressed the need for what they termed consistency, implying that Japan's traditional coastal communities should also be allowed to to hunt under the same rules.

Environmental groups deem it as a form of commercial whaling but Tokyo says it is based on the "subsistence whaling" undertaken by indigenous peoples.

It also has enforcement and monitoring measures with a plan to have an oversight committee comprising IWC members to observe the coastal whaling activities with "100 percent transparency," Morishita said.

Japan is already under fire for allegedly using research as a thinly disguised and subsidized exercise in commercial whaling.

Tokyo has skillfully devised its plan almost identical to the US request and has been lobbying hard in the IWC, where it has wide influence.

earlier related report
Whales' fate hangs in balance as talks open on commercial hunting
Anchorage (AFP) May 28 - The fate of the great whales hung in the balance Monday as officials from 75 nations opened talks amid pressure, notably from Japan, to reverse a ban on commercial hunting of the mammals.

As the International Whaling Commission (IWC) convened in the Alaskan capital of Anchorage, the United States and Japan -- de facto leaders of the anti- and pro-commercial whaling groups -- called for a closing of ranks in the deeply-divided group.

"We must find a way to work together to have a successful meeting but also find a way for the future of IWC to be an effective organization" mandated to regulate whaling and be in charge of conservation of the mammals, said William Hogarth, the IWC chairman from the United States.

He called for "effective, open and thorough discussions" by delegates who would decide at the four-day talks whether a contentious Japanese plan to lift the fragile 20-year moratorium on commercial whaling should be allowed.

The meeting would also consider a US request to renew bowhead whale hunting quotas for its native Alaskan communities.

Russia, Greenland and St Vincent and the Grenadines are also seeking extension at the IWC of their aboriginal subsistence hunts for the next five years.

Although the IWC imposed a ban on commercial whaling in 1986 it has a policy of allowing certain indigenous peoples to hunt otherwise protected whales to satisfy longstanding cultural and subsistence needs.

Japan, already under fire for allegedly using research as a thinly disguised and subsidized exercise in commercial whaling, had asked the IWC to allow its traditional coastal communities to catch whales under the same rules allowing the aboriginal peoples to hunt the giant creatures.

Environmental groups deem it as a form of commercial whaling but Tokyo says it is based on the "same language of subsistence whaling" undertaken by indigenous peoples.

"One of the contentious points of our proposal has been its commerciality," Joji Morishita, Japanese alternative commissioner to the IWC, told reporters.

"But we do not accept the difference between commercial whaling and non-commercial or subsistence whaling. There should only be sustainable whaling and non sustainable whaling," he said.

He called on the IWC to approve the Japanese plan, saying it had "strong enforcement and monitoring measures with an oversight committee comprising IWC members to observe coastal whaling with 100 percent transparency."

"In any other reasonable organization, this proposal will receive wide ranging support and I hope this happens in IWC," he said.

Tokyo has skillfully devised its plan almost identical to the US request and has been lobbying hard in the IWC, where it has wide influence.

The United States may need Japan's influence to gain backing for its own proposal to renew whale hunting quotas for native Alaskan communities.

Green groups warned Washington against caving in to any pressure that could lead to any lifting of the moratorium on commercial whaling.

The United States and the other four countries seeking to renew their aboriginal whale hunting quotas had wanted to forge a joint package in a bid to gain swift IWC approval, leaving Japan in the cold, some green groups said.

But Greenland spoiled the party as the Danish territory reportedly wanted to add a new species, humpback whales, to its quota and also expand the number of bowheads for its aboriginal hunters, they said. "The idea was to have the aboriginal quotas remain the same but Denmark, for whatever reasons, has chosen not to honor that," said Kitty Block, director of Humane Society International.

"Because of Denmark's action, this may disrupt the ability of other aboriginal communities to secure their quotas," she said.

Japan last year won a non-binding resolution in favor of commercial whaling, but fell short of the numbers needed to overturn the moratorium.

Anti-whaling nations are said to have a slim majority this year.

earlier related report
Australia Raps Japan Over Provocative Whaling
Sydney (AFP) May 29 - Australia accused Japan Tuesday of being "needlessly provocative" in planning to kill 50 humpback whales for scientific research in its next annual hunt in Antarctic waters.

The humpbacks migrate from the Southern Ocean up the Australian coast to warmer waters to breed each year and are the centrepiece of the country's growing whale-watching industry.

"It's important that Japan understands that the inclusion of humpbacks will have an impact on perceptions of Japan in Australia," said Environment Minister Malcolm Turnbull.

"This program is one that is really calculated to undermine and diminish the affection which the Australian people have with our friends in Japan," he told ABC radio from Alaska, where the International Whaling Commission (IWC) is meeting.

Turnbull called on Japan to drop the pretence that it kills whales for scientific research.

"The scale of Japan's scientific whaling program, which gets bigger every year, is clearly far beyond anything that could reasonably be regarded as necessary for scientific research.

"You don't need to kill whales to do research into them. Australia is a world leader in non-lethal research into whales," he said.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare estimates that Japan has killed more than 6,800 minke whales in its research programme.

Turnbull was speaking as officials from 75 nations began talks at the IWC meeting amid pressure, notably from Japan, to reverse a ban on commercial whaling.

"I'm very confident that the ban on commercial whaling will continue," he said.

"There's been a lot of very effective diplomatic work by Australia and by other countries to ensure that the pro-conservation numbers are enhanced and strengthened."

Japan last year won a non-binding resolution in favor of commercial whaling, but fell short of the numbers needed to overturn the 20-year moratorium, and anti-whaling nations are said to have a slim majority this year.

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