Japan risks a worldwide backlash over plans to expand its annual whale hunt, Australia said on Tuesday as it stepped up a diplomatic campaign against whaling. Prime Minister John Howard, in a letter to his Japanese counterpart Junichiro Koizumi, urged Japan to reconsider its position following reports that two new species would be added to the Japanese hunt and its catch of minke whales nearly doubled, Reuters said. Japan, where whale meat is a delicacy, abandoned commercial whaling in 1986 in line with an international ban, but began a programme to hunt whales in what it calls scientific research whaling the next year. The meat ends up on store shelves and on the tables of gourmet restaurants. There was "no basis" for killing whales for scientific research, Howard said. "There is clear evidence of the extent of public interest in the continued health and welfare of whales and considerable public concern could be be expected, not only in Australia, but across the globe, were whaling to increase," Howard wrote. The letter risks a diplomatic row with Japan, Australia's biggest export destination, at a time when Australia is pushing for a free trade deal with Tokyo. Australia ranks fourth as a supplier of imports to Japan and bilateral trade is worth about A$39 billion ($30 billion) a year. --More 1013 Local Time 0713 GMT
