Whaling comments “worrying”

  • Murray McCully
Foreign Affairs

Foreign Minister Murray McCully has described reported comments on whaling from Japanese PM Shinzō Abe as “worrying”.

“While it is not clear precisely what Prime Minister Abe is proposing in the short term, the fact that he has told a Parliamentary Committee that he wants to aim towards the resumption of commercial whaling is both unfortunate and unhelpful,” Mr McCully says.

“The decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) laid down clear guidelines for any research whaling activities in the future. We welcomed Japan’s statement that they would study and abide by the decision of the Court.

“As a country that places a high value on its good international citizenship, we hope and expect that Japan will continue to respect the ICJ decision,” Mr McCully says.