Whaling protestor 'to be charged in Japan'

An anti-whaling activist from New Zealand is in custody on a Japanese vessel and will be taken to Japan to face charges after secretly boarding the ship as part of a protest, officials said today.

Peter Bethune, a member of the US-based Sea Shepherd activist group, jumped aboard the Shonan Maru 2 from a jet-ski on Monday with the stated goal of making a citizen’s arrest of the ship’s captain and presenting him with a $3m bill for the destruction of a protest ship last month.