Activist faces arrest in Japan

Former Hamilton anti-whaling activist Peter Bethune looks set to be arrested once the vessel he boarded in the Southern Ocean reaches Japan late this week.

Mr Bethune, a member of the anti-whaling Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been in Japanese custody since he climbed aboard the vessel in Antarctic waters in mid-February to make a citizen's arrest over the sinking of his high-tech protest boat.

The Japan Coastguard planned to arrest the New Zealander upon the ship's return to Tokyo, which was expected to be on Friday, Japan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper said, quoting anonymous investigation sources.

If convicted, Mr Bethune could face imprisonment of up to three years or a maximum fine of Y100,000 (about NZ$1500). No comment on the report was available from the coastguard.

Mr Bethune was the captain of the trimaran Ady Gil, which was destroyed in a collision with the whaling vessel on January 6.

His case was the latest twist in the increasingly heated confron-tations between the whalers and the Sea Shepherd activists.

The activists declared an end to this season's pursuit of Japanese harpoon ships in Antarctic waters on February 27, saying it was their most successful campaign so far.

The group's anti-whaling vessels, the Steve Irwin and the Bob Barker, arrived in Hobart on Saturday, marking the end of their summer campaign.

But as the two ships docked in Hobart, the Australian Federal Police raided the vessels at the behest of Japanese authorities. Sea Shepherd boss and the ship's captain, Paul Watson, was detained and his crew interviewed before they were released.

Mr Watson said there was a possibility the raids could lead to a court case. "They've already seized log books, videos, photographs, charts, GPS recordings and copies of the computer hard drives.

There's nothing I would love better than to have this whole thing blow up in an Australian court; let's clean all the laundry once and for all."

A federal police spokesman said the ships were searched "as a result of a formal referral from Japanese authorities".

"As inquiries are ongoing, it's inappropriate to comment any further at this stage," he said.

Mr Bethune's case is not the first time Sea Shepherd activists have boarded Japanese whaling ships. In January 2008 a Briton and an Australian climbed aboard a Japanese harpoon vessel to deliver a protest letter.

After two days the Japanese side handed them back to an Australian customs boat.

Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since 1986, but Japan justifies its annual hunts as "lethal scientific research", while not hiding the fact that the meat is later sold in shops and restaurants.

- © Fairfax NZ News