A Japanese whaling ship has left port in southwestern Japan and is aiming at starting the season in Antarctica.

The vessel Nisshin Maru left from the port of Innoshima under tight security. The rest of the fleet is expected to leave from another port later this month.

The ship's departure came as the Australian Government announced plans to spend millions of dollars on non-lethal whale research.

The £2.6 million campaign was launched just ahead of the Antarctic Ocean summer whaling season, when Japan regularly kills more than 1,000 whales which it claims are for research.

The campaign will invest in aerial surveys, satellite tags and genetic and molecular studies, as well as an independent assessment of the scientific credibility of Japan's whaling programme.

Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett said: "There are non-lethal ways of understanding these animals and we do not need to kill whales in the name of science."

Australia and neighbouring New Zealand are strong opponents of Japan's annual whale hunt, and have tried various tactics in recent years to bring about its end.

But a spokesman from the Japanese Fisheries Agency, Shigeki Tanaka, pledged Japan's commitment to continuing this year's Antarctic whale hunt.

The Agency said that its whaling fleet is expected to kill up to 935 minke whales and 50 fin whales this season.

Mr Tanaka said the violent nature of recent environmental protests against the hunt were unacceptable, considering Japan's research had been sanctioned by the International Whaling Commission.

The Japanese have hunted whales for centuries, and whale meat was widely eaten in the lean years after World War II.

However, it has plunged in popularity in today's prosperous Japan.

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