CANBERRA, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- If the Australian government pursues legal action against Japanese whaling it would be like a bitter court divorce and could undermine bilateral free trade talks, a prominent Japanese political and business consultant says.

    Hiroshi Tataku, who is a member of the Order of Australia for promoting business and political exchanges between the two nations, has warned the Rudd government not to pursue legal action on the issue.

    Tataku, who is not a fan of whale meat, said both countries needed to prevent the relationship becoming strained or even damaged.

    "We have to solve this whaling issue," he told Australian Broadcasting Company's Radio service on Friday. "It's not only a whaling issue, but also it's a symbolic one, so if you cannot solve one issue like whaling, how can we solve the other issue," he said, referring to the free trade talks.

    Court action over the issue would be "the last thing I can imagine", he said, "it reminds me of the kind of court action resulting in divorce."