Prosecutors demanded a two-year prison sentence Thursday for New Zealand antiwhaling activist Peter Bethune, who is on trial for criminal charges linked to his attempts to prevent Japan from killing whales in Antarctic seas.
Bethune is charged with trespassing, vandalism, possession of a knife, obstructing business and assault. He pleaded guilty to all but the assault charge in last month's opening session.
Prosecutors say Bethune boarded the whaling vessel Shonan Maru No. 2 from a jet ski in February, while the ship was in the Antarctic Ocean. He was apprehended when the ship returned to Tokyo in March.
Bethune, who boarded the vessel after the whaler chopped the boat he skippered, the Ady Gil, in two, causing it to sink, is suspected of throwing glass bottles containing rotten butter at the harpoon boat in an attempt to block its whaling mission, including one that broke and left three Japanese crew members with chemical burns.
At the Tokyo District Court on Thursday, prosecutors said there was a "clear link" between his throwing of the bottles and the injuries and he must have been aware a bottle might hit a crew member.
Prosecutors said Bethune "actively took part and carried out actual attacks" on the whaling ship as part of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's violent attacks that have continued "systematically and persistently for many years."
Thursday's session wraps up the proceedings ahead of a ruling expected July 7.