Facing legal actions from Australia, Japan on Thursday agreed to reduce the number of its whaling quota for its annual research hunt on condition it is allowed to resume commercial whaling along its coasts.

Japan's Fisheries Agency official Toshinori Uoya said that Tokyo is willing to compromise with the whaling quota if commercial whaling is resumed.

The International Whaling Commission (IWC) banned commercial whaling since 1986, a move strongly opposed by Japan.

But the IWC allowed Japan to hunt hundreds of mostly mike whales each year, under a research program agreement. However, critics claim the program is just a mere cover for commercial hunts as excess meat from the research hunt is sold for consumption.

Minke whales are not included in the list of endangered whales.

Uoya released Japan's new position after attending a closed-door IWC meeting last week in Washington which was attended by representatives from 11 other countries, including Australia and the U.S.

He expressed hope that Tokyo's position would be reflected in a new proposal by the IWC chairman to be published on Thursday ahead of its annual meeting in June.

Under its proposal, Tokyo said it is willing to reduce its annual minke whales hunt in the Atlantic to 440 from 935 annually. At the same time, it would support calls for the establishment of a whale sanctuary in the South Atlantic.

But Sea Shepherd, a U.S. based conservation group said that the reduction in minke whales quota will not have a dent as Japan's annual catch fell to around 500 whales.

Australia warned Japan it would take legal actions against its research hunts and gave Tokyo until November to stop its Antarctic whaling or be brought before the International Court of Justice.

Australia is calling for a total ban on all whaling hunts within five years.