Japan 'will abide by' ICJ ruling on Antarctic whaling

The UN's International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that the Japanese government must halt its whaling programme in the Antarctic.

It agreed with Australia, which brought the case in May 2010, that the programme was not for scientific research as claimed by Tokyo.

Speaking to the BBC, Nori Shikata, Political Minister at Japan's UK embassy, said that the ruling was "disappointing", but that Tokyo would abide by the decision.