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AP Analysis: Japan anti-whaling ruling saves face

By Mari Yamaguchi
Published April 12, 2014 9:39am ET
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AP Analysis: Japan anti-whaling ruling saves face
FILE - This undated file photo provided by the Australian Customs Service shows what the Australian government says is the slain carcasses of a minke whale and her calf being hauled aboard the Japanese harpoon ship Yushin Maru 2 in Antarctic waters. The international court ruling against Japanese whaling last week may have given the government a convenient political out. In a March 31 ruling, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered Japan to stop granting permits for its Antarctic whaling program, which allowed an annual cull of about 1,000 whales. (AP Photo/Australian Customs Service, File) NO SALES, EDITORIAL USE ONLY | AP

TOKYO (AP) — The international court ruling against Japanese whaling last week may have given the government a convenient political out.

The Antarctic program was nearly bankrupt, but if the government had overhauled it on its own, it would have incurred the wrath of a strong pro-whaling lobby, and could have been criticized for caving in to foreign anti-whaling activists. Now officials can say the court forced their hand.

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