In an attempt to stop the rutheless killing of Antarctic whales in the name of scientific research, Australia in once again ready to drag Japan to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) it seems.

In a statement released on Monday, the Australian government announced that it has joined hands with 32 like-minded nations to protest against Japan's decision to resume whaling in the Antarcic ocean despite several warnings, protests and opposition. Australia had already filed a lawsuit with ICJ in 2010 against Japan's annual whale hunt.

The governments have urged Japan to respect the recommendations made by the International Whaling Commission (IWF) and its experts and scientific committee. Earlier, the IWC ruled out in favour of Australia by stating that there is no scientific reason why lethal whaling activities should be carried out by Japan.

The joint press statement released by Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop and Environment Minister Greg Hunt clears that Australia will continue to strive for the protection of whales and ban commercial whaling. The government still argues that when all information about whales can be obtained through non-lethal methods, there is no need for Japan to conduct lethal whaling activities.

“Australia is committed to the protection of whales. We will continue our efforts in the International Whaling Commission to promote whale conservation and uphold the global moratorium on commercial whaling,” states the joint statement. “We are working with other like-minded nations to build international consensus against Japanese whaling. We are also exploring options for further legal action.”

In 2014, the ICJ ruled that Japan's scientific whaling program is a way to carry out commercial whaling and is not intended for research. The country stopped its whaling mission for almost a year after the decision.

But earlier this month, Japan decided to resume whaling in the name of scientific research by sending a whaling fleet for Antarctic to search and kill 333 minke whales. According to WWF estimates, Japan has killed more than 8,200 minke whales in the Antarctic so far.

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