A group of Japanese pupils are looking at workers cutting apart a dead whale on July 12, 2004. Australian Prime Minister John Howard has written to his counterpart Junichiro Koizumi to scrap reported plans to hunt species that are considered endangered.(Photo: Xinhua/AFP)

The photo shows whale meat for sale at a Japanese supermarket. A Japanese fishery official says Tokyo will not yield to foreign pressure seeking to stop it from whaling, arguing that it is done for scientific research.(AFP/xinhhua)

    BEIJING, May 24 -- A Japanese fishery official says Tokyo will not yield to foreign pressure seeking to stop it from whaling, arguing that it is done for scientific research.

    In Japan, whale meat is part of the traditional cuisine. In 1986, it reluctantly accepted a moratorium on commercial whaling by the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

    But, it resumed whaling in 1987 using a loophole that allows "research whaling" and selling the meat on the market.

    Tokyo will reportedly tell the IWC that it intends to nearly double its annual catch of minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean.

    Japan says whaling provides research on whales' ages, eating habits and other details proving its point that such whale species as minkes are thriving and consuming valuable fish stock.

    Australian Prime Minister John Howard has written to his counterpart Junichiro Koizumi to scrap reported plans to hunt species that are considered endangered.

    (Source: CRIENGLISH.com)