Japan is giving off mixed signals about whether it will resume its loathed Southern Ocean whale hunt.  Officially, Tokyo insists it has made no decision on whether to resume whaling in the Southern Ocean next year.  But an ocean away from Tokyo, there’s an indication of what’s really in the works.

Tokyo has said it will comply with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruling which ended Japan’s annual whale hunt.  The court didn’t believe Japan’s claim that it killed whales for scientific research, noting the program has produced no scientific findings, but has produced whale meat for the domestic market.

Japan’s Institute for Cetacean Research filed papers in a court in the northwestern US city of Seattle, saying it expects to conduct hunts in future seasons – albeit with a modified program.  The Japanese whalers are seeking an injunction against Sea Shepherd, which has pursued Japan's whaling ships during their Antarctic hunts over the past few years.

“Plaintiffs expect they will be conducting a Southern Ocean research program for subsequent seasons that would be in accord with the ICJ decision,” the whalers added, according to the papers. 

“When the ICJ verdict was issued, I knew that although it was a great victory that vindicated our opposition to illegal whaling in the Southern Ocean, I could see the potential for the ICR to re-write their program and to return.  My prediction was they would return for the 2015-2016 season.  It seems that this is exactly what they intend to do,” Sea Shepherd founder Paul Watson said on the organization's website.