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Japan and its pro-whaling allies are hoping a special meeting of the International Whaling Commission will build momentum to resume commercial hunting of the giant creatures.
Japan wants to shift the commission's focus to whale management rather than a moratorium, but with 26 anti-whaling nations - including Australia, New Zealand and the United States - boycotting the meeting, prospects for dialogue in the organisation appear slim.
Thirty-four of the commission's 72 members are attending.
"One of our goals is to improve the atmosphere of the IWC, which has become one of confrontation, and to improve dialogue," Minoru Morimoto, the commissioner for Japan, told the meeting.
"It's a shame that most anti-whaling nations chose confrontation," he said. He hoped the commission would seriously consider "normalisation", Japanese code for resuming commercial hunting.
Ahead of the meeting, a Japanese whaling ship and protest vessels collided in the Southern Ocean.
In Tokyo, three anti-whaling protesters, including a man wearing a mask of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's face, carried a signboard which read "Welcome to the commercialisation meeting".
One activist was dressed as a weeping whale.
Pasted to the sign were 10,000 yen ($120) notes and names of several countries, an allusion to charges by anti-whalers that Japan has bought pro-whaling votes at the IWC with foreign aid. Japan has repeatedly denied the allegations.
The IWC instituted a commercial whaling ban in 1986. But the group is now bitterly divided between countries that assert all whales need protection and others, like Japan, that say some species are now abundant enough for limited hunting.
Japan, which says whaling is a cherished cultural tradition, began scientific research whaling in 1987.
The meat, which under commission rules must be sold for consumption, ends up in supermarkets and pricey restaurants but is far from a daily menu choice.
Some experts say Japan fears that limits on whaling will lead to limits on all Japanese fishing, a crucial food source in a nation that has limited agricultural land.
- REUTERS
