Japan's whaling fleet sets off for Antarctic despite international outrage

Defying cross-continental outrage and an international ban, Japan's whaling fleet has set off for a decades-old whale hunt.

More than 300 whales are expected to be caught and killed in what the country calls its "scientific whaling" programme, which aims to prove that most species of whale are not endangered and should be subject to commercial hunting.

Most of the meat ends up on shop shelves, with authorities insisting it forms part of Japan's food culture.

The hunt was forced to take a hiatus last year after The International Court of Justice (ICJ) ruled last year that the whaling mission in the Southern Ocean should stop, and an International Whaling Commission (IWC) panel said in April that Japan had yet to demonstrate a need for "lethal sampling".

The hunt, which will last until March, has downscaled from previous expeditions, which had often brought back more than three times as many minke whales.

The Japanese Fisheries Agency told the IWC in a document of its plans to resume whaling, arguing that the lower number of catches meant the plan was "scientifically reasonable".

Japan claims that its whaling surveys are needed for information on how whales live, including what they eat, as well as population numbers. The meat ends up on store shelves, although most Japanese no longer eat it.

Some officials have stated their intention to resume commercial whaling, despite the global ban.

Director general of the agency, Satoshi Kunii, spoke to the crew at a ceremony marking their departure, thanking them for their work - but also warning them of the potential threat from anti-whaling activists.