Japanese whalers threatened Tuesday to sue the environmental groups Sea Shepherd and even Greenpeace for physically attempting to thwart the fleet's government-backed research hunt earlier this year in the Southern Ocean.
Shigetoshi Nishiwaki, director of the Institute of Cetacean Research's survey division, which conducts whaling activities on the government's behalf, hinted at the lawsuit during a news conference in Tokyo.
A Fisheries Agency official later tried to downplay Nishiwaki's comments, saying they were apparently his personal remarks and the government is not planning litigation.