Prowhaling nations issued a draft statement Thursday accusing antiwhaling countries of "imperialism" for imposing a ban on commercial hunts, and Tokyo threatened to quit the International Whaling Commission unless it is reformed.
The statements came at the end of a three-day conference here organized by the Japanese government aimed at reforming the IWC. The meeting, however, was boycotted by 37 of the commission's 72 members, including antiwhaling nations the United States, Britain and Australia.
Japan and other prowhaling countries argue the IWC is too polarized to be effective and has strayed from its original purpose of managing commercial whaling. Instead, the IWC is simply maintaining a ban on commercial whaling, they say.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.