Japan says its whale hunt is legal under the international convention Australia has said it will begin legal action against Japan over its whaling in the Antarctic.
It will argue that the annual whaling hunt in the Southern Ocean is in violation of an international ban on commercial whaling. Japan, which kills hundreds of whales ever year, says the hunt is carried out for scientific research purposes.
Critics say this is a cover for commercial whaling and that whale meat not used in research is sold for food.
The Australian government says it will lodge formal proceedings at the International Court of Justice in The Hague next week.
The move comes ahead of a meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Morocco next month, where agreement is being sought on a new approach to whaling, which would allow commercial hunting but with strict quotas.
Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett and Attorney General Robert McClelland said in a joint statement that the move underlines their "commitment to bring to an end Japan's program of so-called scientific whaling".
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