Japan May Press Charges Against Activist Who Boarded Whaler

“We’re considering bringing him to Japan on suspicion he may have violated criminal law by breaking into a Japanese ship,” Hirano told reporters at a press conference in Tokyo.

Peter Bethune, a New Zealander who holds the record for the fastest powerboat circumnavigation of the world, boarded the Shonan Maru 2 yesterday to attempt a citizen’s arrest of the ship’s captain, the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said in a statement. Bethune’s powerboat sank on Jan. 8 following a collision with the same boat.

The incident may exacerbate tensions with New Zealand over the Japanese government’s annual whaling expeditions to Antarctica. New Zealand opposes the hunts and is seeking to halt them through diplomacy. Prime Minister John Key said yesterday Bethune’s “antics” were “not the way forward.”

Sea Shepherd sent three vessels to the Southern Ocean to protest Japan’s annual hunt, which it conducts using a rule under a moratorium on whaling agreed in 1986 that allows “lethal research” on the mammals.

The powerboat, skippered by Bethune, sank after it was sliced in two by the Shonan Maru 2 as Sea Shepherd activists attempted to disrupt the hunt.

The collision occurred in Australian waters and Australia’s government said at the time it hasn’t ruled out the prospect of taking legal action against the whalers after gathering evidence that it’s presenting to the International Whaling Commission.