Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, who arrived Monday in Tokyo, will promote controversial plans to export whale meat to Japan during three days of trade and business talks.

Norway has been negotiating for more than a year to sell whale meat to Japan.

But Japanese fears over possible toxins in the meat, as well as widespread opposition to the international trade in whale products, has put any such deal on hold.

Norwegian fisheries officials hope to make progress on the issue during the prime minister's visit, according to Magnor Merheim, director general of the Norwegian Fisheries Ministry.

An agreement could clear the way for Japan's Fisheries Agency to make its first overseas whale meat purchase since 1991.

Domestic whaling officials were unavailable for comment Monday but have often voiced concerns over meat quality and international opinion.

Stockpiles of Norwegian whale blubber have gone unsold, largely due to its high content of PCBs.

Polychlorinated biphenyls are a now-banned industrial pollutant containing potentially carcinogenic toxins.

They can accumulate in the bodies of fish and other marine life, especially in the fatty regions.

To undercut criticism that international whale meat sales are open to abuse, Norway has implemented a DNA registry record for each piece of meat sold, Merheim said.

This is supposed to prove that the meat did not come from an illegal catch or from a protected species.

Japan and Norway are the world's top whaling nations.