Japan and Iceland on Monday agreed to continue cooperating in the fishery trade and supporting each other's stance in whaling activities.
Iceland's visiting Foreign and Trade Minister Halldor Asgrimsson told Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka that Iceland believes whaling is necessary to keep the ecological balance, a Foreign Ministry official said.
Iceland, one of the few whaling countries along with Japan, walked out of the International Whaling Commission in 1992 but applied to rejoin at the IWC's general meeting in July. The application was greeted with reservations by member countries.
Asgrimsson is in Japan to mark the opening of Iceland's embassy in Tokyo.