Japan denies dropping whale hunt

Japan has made no agreement to stop hunting humpback whales, said its foreign ministry.

There is no (new) written, diplomatic agreement between Japan and the United States over the current specific whaling mission... and whaling in general,'' said Tomohiko Taniguchi, spokesman for the Japanese foreign ministry. He was responding to comments by US ambassador Thomas Schieffer, who reportedly told journalists that Japan and the United States agreed on no harvesting of humpback whales for the time being. Japan's ships set sail last month on the country's largest hunt yet, which for the first time since the 1960s will kill humpbacks, one of the most popular animals for Australian whale watchers. The mission defied warnings from Japan's usual Western allies including Australia.
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