Whaling bribery denied by Japan

Whaling bribery denied by Japan

TOKYO (Reuters): A senior Japanese official was in hot water on Thursday over comments suggesting Tokyo used aid money to win backing for its drive to lift a whaling ban and for describing the minke whale as the "cockroach of the oceans".

Japan, the world's biggest consumer of whale meat and the number one aid donor, moved quickly to put a positive spin on remarks by senior Fisheries Agency official Masayuki Komatsu that have already angered conservationists.

An internal agency document denied that Komatsu said in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp that Japan had used the inducement of development aid to win support from poorer nations for its campaign to lift the international ban on whaling.

The comments were expected to draw an angry response from countries opposed to whaling at the annual general meeting of the International Whaling Commission in London next week.