TOKYO (AFP) — Japan's whaling fleet returned to port on Tuesday as authorities prepared to launch an investigation into forceful harassment by activists in the Antarctic.
Escorted by patrol boats, the 8,044-tonne Nisshin Maru mother ship with 143 crew on board docked at a heavily guarded Tokyo port early in the morning after a five-month voyage.
The fleet of six vessels killed a total of 551 whales, nearly half of the initially planned haul.
Japan plans to probe the attacks by militant activists in the Antarctic with a view to legal action.
Protestors on the Sea Shepherd ship threw what they described as stink bombs filled with rancid butter onto the decks of whalers. Japan says the bombs contained acid that stings the eyes.
In January, the group also sent two protesters to board a whaling factory ship, sparking a two-day standoff.
"The disturbances were an unforgivable act," said Shigeki Takaya, assistant director of Fisheries Agency's whaling bureau.
"We will take preventive measures, resorting to legal procedures and gaining international cooperation," he told AFP.
At the port, coastguard officials boarded the black and beige mother ship whose hull was scratched and slightly dented, although it was unclear whether the damage was related to the high-seas clashes.
Dock workers unloaded leftover ammunition for harpooning ahead of frozen whale meat already processed in the ship to be sold at fish markets.
No major protests were staged at the harbour with only several environmentalists showing up to monitor the arrival, which was guarded by police and coastguard officers.
An inspection of the fleet and questioning of the crew over the incident is likely to begin as early as Wednesday, an official said.
Japan had aimed to kill 850 minke whales and 50 fin whales on its annual hunt, but the total catch for the year came to 551 minke whales with no fin whales due to a series of offshore protests.
"But we can call the mission a success as we were able to pursue our research," Takaya said. "We want to firmly continue whaling which is based on an international treaty and scientific grounds."
Japan kills whales using a loophole in a 1986 whaling moratorium that allows "lethal research" on the giant mammals despite protests led by Australia. Only Norway and Iceland defy the moratorium outright.
Greenpeace, whose vessel also followed the whaling fleet for two weeks, urged Japan to end the annual hunt.
"Japan will lose international trust if it continues to lie that (whaling) is for research and selling whale meat at home," it said in a statement.
Whale meat holds sentimental value for some Japanese baby-boomers who ate it after the devastation of World War II.
Most Japanese have seldom eaten whale since an international moratorium on hunting was imposed in 1986. But Japan has been trying to give young people a taste for whale, which has also been marketed in curry and burgers.
Australia has stepped up pressure on Japan since Prime Minister Kevin Rudd took office in December, sending a customs vessel to monitor the Antarctic hunt and gather evidence for a possible court case against whaling.
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