Japan whale hunting is 'dangerous' Australia has rejected Japan's Antarctic whaling as dangerous and a fairytale, as it laid out the case against the practice for the first time at the International Court of Justice. Japan's "scientific" whaling program came under detailed attack from senior counsel for Australia before the court, and in a lengthy written case released at The Hague. The court heard Japan's decision to take up to 935 minke whales each year under self-awarded scientific permits could be catastrophic if followed by other countries. Australia has asked the court to halt the whaling. The case is to be argued before 16 judges over four weeks with a decision expected later this year. Australia's lead counsel Bill Campbell, QC, said Japan's interpretation of the global whaling treaty's special scientific permits rule was "not only untenable, it's dangerous in its consequences." "Japan seeks to cloak its ongoing commercial whaling in the lab coat of science," he said on Wednesday. Outside court, Japan defended its position. Japan's delegation leader, Deputy Foreign Minister Koji Tsuruoka, said Japan appeared at the court with "full confidence."