The International Court of Justice (ICJ) at the UN has decided that Japan must halt whaling activities in the Antarctic.

Authorities in Tokyo announced they accept the ICJ's ruling, which is legally binding.

The case was launched in 2010 upon a claim by Australia, according to which whaling in the region was actually not for scientific research as Japan has asserted for years.

Previously, other countries like South Korea have also defied Tokyo's program, but with little success.

Since 2005, ICJ has said, Japan has caught 3600 minke whales in the Antarctic, but no "scientific" results were reported.

Australia has claimed that the number of animals slaughtered for commercial purposes in the country since 1988 has reached 10 000.

In theory, Japan vowed to abide by a moratorium on whaling which it signed in 1986. The country has however gone on with the practice, like Norway and Iceland, who have never adopted documents banning it.

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