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 TOKYO (AP) - Japan opened an international whaling conference Tuesday by blasting a boycott by dozens of anti-whaling nations, saying their absence would block much-needed reforms of the commission that sets regulations. The conference, which Japan called as part of its push to resume commercial whaling, was attended by only 34 of the 72 members of the International Whaling Commission. The boycotters included anti-whaling countries Britain, Australia and the United States.
The boycott illustrates the intense divide over Japan's whaling program as protesters have clashed, sometimes violently, in recent days with Japanese whaling ships in the South Pacific.
Minoru Morimoto, Japan's IWC representative, told the conference that the boycott made it "almost impossible" to have a worthwhile discussion on reforming the IWC, which Japan argues should manage commercial whaling rather than banning it outright.
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