Japan to arrest anti-whaling activist: report

Asian Defense News: TOKYO (AFP) - – Japan plans to arrest a New Zealand activist being held on a whaling ship which he secretly boarded planning to make a citizen's arrest of its captain, a report said Sunday.Japan to arrest anti-whaling activist: report

Peter Bethune, a member of the militant Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, has been in Japanese custody since he climbed aboard the vessel in Antarctic waters in mid-February to make a citizen's arrest over the sinking of a high-tech protest boat.

The Japan Coast Guard plans to arrest the New Zealander upon the ship's return to Tokyo around Friday, the Asahi Shimbun said, quoting anonymous investigation sources.

If convicted, Bethune could face imprisonment of up to three years or a maximum fine of 100,000 yen (1,100 dollars).

No comment on the report was available from the coast guard on Sunday.

Bethune was the captain of the carbon-and-kevlar trimaran Ady Gil which was destroyed in a collision with the whaling vessel on January 6.

Bethune's case is the latest twist in the increasingly heated confrontations between the whalers and the Sea Shepherd activists.

Commercial whaling has been banned worldwide since 1986, but Japan justifies its annual hunts as "lethal scientific research", while not hiding the fact that the meat is later sold in shops and restaurants.

The anti-whaling activists declared an end to this season's pursuit of Japanese harpoon ships in Antarctic waters on February 27, saying it was their most successful campaign so far.

Australian police searched two Sea Shepherd ships at the request of Japanese authorities on Saturday, seizing log books and videos.

Bethune's case is not the first time Sea Shepherd activists have boarded Japanese whaling ships. In January 2008 a Briton and an Australian climbed aboard a Japanese harpoon vessel to deliver a protest letter.

After two days the Japanese side handed them back to an Australian customs boat.