Japan's foreign minister says he was disappointed with Australia's threat to take his country to court over its Antarctic whale hunts, and Australia vowed to approach the International Whaling Commission as soon as Monday.
The comments from Japanese Foreign Minister Katsuya Okada follow two days of talks with officials in Australia over Tokyo's research whaling program, which kills hundreds of whales a year in Antarctic waters.
On Friday, the day before Okada's arrival, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said Australia would take international legal action against Japan if the program was not stopped by November.
"It's very unfortunate the Australian side has indicated it will take action in an international court," Okada told reporters in Perth following a meeting with Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.
"Should action become a reality, Japan will seek to represent its case to the IWC (International Whaling Commission) in supporting the fact that its activities are legal."
Okada said Tokyo will defend its hunt in any legal forum, saying it is an allowed exception to the International Whaling Commission's 1986 ban on commercial whaling.
Whale meat not used for study is sold for consumption in Japan, which critics say is the real reason for the hunts.
Australia, a staunch anti-whaling nation, has long threatened to take Japan to court over the program.
Two years ago, it sent a ship to Antarctic waters to follow the Japanese whaling fleet and collect videos and photographs it said might be used as evidence in an international forum.
Following his meeting with Okada, Smith said the Australian government has decided to present a proposal to the International Whaling Commission asking that the whaling program be stopped within a "reasonable period of time."
"That is a position that we will put to the International Whaling Commission in the very near future, potentially as early as tomorrow," Smith said.
Smith, who represents Perth in the national parliament in Canberra, said if an agreement between the countries isn't reached, Australia will seek arbitration in the International Court of Justice at The Hague.
Despite the stalemate over whaling, both Smith and Okada said the issue would not impact the countries' strong bilateral ties.
The talks come amid an increasingly aggressive fight between the Japanese whaling fleet and US-based activist group Sea Shepherd, which pursues the whalers each year in attempt to thwart the hunt.
In January, a Japanese whaler struck Sea Shepherd's high-tech speedboat Ady Gil, which sank a day later.
Earlier this month, Sea Shepherd's ship the Bob Barker and a Japanese harpoon boat collided, causing minor damage to both vessels.
Sea Shepherd activists have thrown bottles of butyric acid at the whalers, and the Japanese have returned fire with water cannons.
Japan claimed three crew members on one of its whaling vessels suffered face and eye injuries from an acid attack earlier this month.
Earlier on Sunday, Smith and Okada took part in a wreath-laying ceremony along with Western Australia's Premier Colin Barnett, at the State war memorial in the city's Kings Park.
Sea Shepherd representatives turned up at the ceremony.
The protesters told Australian television they were staging a silent protest, so as not to disrespect the war memorial.
Spokesman Jeff Hanson said "Sea Shepherd came down here today.... to just make our presence known here".
APTN