Whaling threat ‘unfortunate’

JAPAN’S foreign minister yesterday described Australia’s threat of legal action against its controversial whaling activities as “unfortunate” but said he did not believe it would hurt ties.

Katsuya Okada told reporters on the second and final day of a visit to Australia: “Should court action become a reality, then Japan will seek to represent its case to the International Whaling Commission supporting the fact that its activities are legal and within the convention.”