OTTAWA: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) took issue with Japan’s plan to resume commercial whaling in a telephone call with his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe. According to a statement from his office, Trudeau said he “raised the important issue of whale conservation and committed to working with international partners to protect whale species.” Japan announced last month that it was withdrawing from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and would resume commercial whaling this year, sparking criticism from activists and anti-whaling countries. The commercial hunts, however, would be limited to Japan’s territorial waters, said a top Japanese government spokesman. And Japan will not be able to continue so-called scientific research hunts in the Antarctic and elsewhere that it has been exceptionally allowed as an IWC member.

AFP