International court rules Japan must halt whaling in the Antarctic.

The United Nations International Court of Justice ruled on March 31 that Japan must cease its whaling operations in the Antarctic, which had carried on in the region for years under the guise of scientific research. 

In doing so, the court agreed with Australia, which had brought the case forward in 2010, saying the whaling operations were for commercial purposes and not research. Like most anything edible from the sea, whale meat has been widely available in Japanese restaurants for years, and many Japanese consider eating whale a cultural rite of passage. 

Japan expressed disappointment in the ruling—which is considered legally binding—but has agreed to abide by it. The ruling also states that no new permits be granted to Japan for future Antarctic whaling operations, but does not impact their whaling operations in the northern Pacific.

The country was one of many in the West to sign a moratorium on whaling in 1986, an agreement rejected by Norway and Iceland, who continue their whaling operations unabated. Japan whaling operations since then have been justified by the claim they were for scientific research, a claim that is widely disputed. 

Anti-whaling activists have been harassing and documenting Japanese whalers in Antarctic waters for years, most notably crews of the Sea Sheperd, which utilizes non-violent tactics to the fight the whalers. 

Most famous of those disruptive tactics might be their catapulting of rotten butter bombs—a non-toxic but highly-noxious deterrent—onto whaling ships. Sea Sheperd crews discontinued this practice in 2010 because the Japanese media maintained they were using battery acid, and the activists sought to end to the bad press.