Japan is expected to bring a spirited defense when Australia takes its anti-whaling case to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague this week.

Australia wants the ICJ to halt Japan’s annual whale hunt in the Southern Ocean, saying it violates the moratorium on commercial whaling established by the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling (ICRW).  Oz will also argue that Japan’s cover story of “research whaling” goes way beyond the ICRW's rules on killing whales for research. Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, who will lead the Australian effort, says said more than 10,000 whales have been killed since 1988 as a result of Japan's whaling programmes in the Southern Ocean.

Japan Deputy Foreign Minister Koji Tsuruoka will lead Tokyo’s delegation, and is expected to challenge that assertion, as well as the ICJ’s jurisdiction to hear the case. 

This year’s haul was a big disappointment for Japan, as intervention from Sea Shepherd Australia caused the whalers to bring back the smallest amount of whales yet.

The hearings begin on Wednesday and are expected to take three weeks.