Anti-whaling nations against Japan coastal whaling

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) - Anti-whaling nations said on Monday they oppose Japan's proposal to permit whale hunting in its coastal communities and will push for Japanese concessions on other issues.

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On the first day of the International Whaling Commission's annual meeting, the United States and its anti-whaling allies said they see Japan's proposal as a way to resume commercial whaling through the backdoor.

"Japan's proposal for coastal whaling is, in effect, a partial resumption of commercial whaling," said Malcolm Turnbull, Australia's environment minister, at a news conference.

The group of allies, which included Australia, New Zealand, Britain, Brazil, Argentina and Germany, said they will not engage in "horse trading," even if Japan compromised on its controversial plan to hunt 50 humpback whales next year as part of its scientific research program.

Japan, which has obeyed a 1986 moratorium on commercial whaling but uses a loophole to hunt whales for scientific research, has argued that it sees no difference between commercial whaling and noncommercial whaling by aboriginal groups.

Japan said it would introduce a proposal this week that would allow four coastal communities to catch a small number of minke whales under a hunting exemption used by aboriginal communities.