Key must get whaling assurance from Abe

John Key must seek a concrete assurance from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that Japan will not flout the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling on whaling, the Green Party said today.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who is meeting with Key today, has implied he’ll ignore an ICJ’s ruling that Japan must halt whaling in the Antarctic.

“New Zealand was proud to have been part of the hard-won ICJ case,” said Green Party oceans spokesperson Gareth Hughes.

“The outcome was an important victory for the protection of whales around the world, and for every New Zealander who has spoken out against whaling.

“John Key’s public statements about his meeting with Prime Minister Abe suggest he’ll gloss over the issue today.

“But this is actually a more significant diplomatic issue than Key is making out. The decision of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) laid down clear guidelines which Japan needs to follow.

“Rather than tip-toeing around the issue, John Key and New Zealand officials need to be clear that any move to resume whaling under the pretext of scientific purposes will not be tolerated by the New Zealand government.

“New Zealanders want to see a strong message sent to Prime Minister Abe that hunting whales in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary is unacceptable and unlawful.

“The ICJ case was a huge win for whales. John Key must not allow it to be undone.

“The question is: will Key defend the hard won legal case, or will he let trade trump whales?”

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