For Japan, which usually prefers quiet diplomacy in the international arena, killing and eating whales is not an environmental issue but a struggle against what it sees as "imperialism" -- particularly by Australia, which lies near whaling waters.

Japan is widely expected to use the ongoing meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) in Ulsan, South Korea to announce an expansion of its controversial but fiercely-defended hunt.

"Countries such as Australia and New Zealand say they would not let a single whale be hunted no matter how healthy whale stocks are," said Hideki Moronuki of Japan's Fisheries Agency.

"These fanatic anti-whaling countries ... may also include Italy, Germany and Britain. But there are some other anti-whaling countries that are a bit cooler," said the assistant director at Japan's Far Seas Fisheries Division.

Moronuki said there were also some "neutral" countries that have shown understanding for the controlled resumption of commercial whaling, allowing Japan to maintain dialogue at the IWC.

"But if all anti-whaling countries become like Australia, we would have no reason to stay at the IWC. We would have to take a withdrawal card out of our pocket," he told AFP. "We keep it as an option."

Excavations indicate that Japanese have been whaling for more than 2,000 years. The animal became even more ingrained in Japanese culture after World War II, when the nation was suffering an acute food shortage.

But Japan's Fisheries Agency argues that whaling is not "a simple issue of whether there is something else to eat."

"Various ethnic groups and peoples have given special status to various forms of life," the agency says in a statement on its website.

"Cows, which are generally considered food, are sacred animals in India. Deer are considered divine messengers on the Japanese island of Kinkasan but are just a common menu item in French cuisine," it says.

"It should be called an act of 'cultural imperialism' and should not be tolerated that certain ethnic groups or peoples press their sense of values towards animals of their selection on other groups or peoples."

In 1986, Japan reluctantly accepted an IWC moratorium on commercial whaling.

But it has carried out "research" whaling since 1987, killing hundreds of whales a year in line with the IWC charter but under harsh criticism by anti-whaling nations, which see it as commercial whaling in disguise.

There is no problem with whales ending up in Japanese supermarkets and restaurants because under IWC rules research whale meat must be processed and sold so it is not wasted, Japanese officials say.

Japan also says lethal research is necessary for accurate data on whales' ages, eating habits and other details and to prove its view that whale species such as the minke are thriving and consuming valuable fish stock -- an argument fiercely contested by environmentalists.

Tokyo has submitted a new plan on research whaling to the IWC scientific committee in South Korea amid reports that it intends to nearly double its annual catch of minke whales in the Antarctic Ocean, currently set at 440.

It also aims to catch the larger humpback and fin whales, which are considered endangered by the World Conservation Union, Japanese news reports said.

IWC rules oblige Japan not to disclose details of its plan until the start of the annual meeting, which is set for Monday.

"A new program will enable us to get more information from the research. A new research program would otherwise be meaningless," Moronuki said.

He added that Japan hoped to see pro-whaling countries gain a majority vote at this year's meeting, short of the three-quarters needed for decision-making but enough to get non-binding resolutions through.

"When whaling countries say the world is against research whaling, it actually means only half of the IWC member countries, or some 30 countries, are against.

"If a resolution embracing the concept of sustainable use of whale stocks is passed, we want to do what anti-whaling countries have done and say 'the world supports whaling'," Moronuki said.

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