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epa04148470 (FILE) A file handout photo dated 16 December 2001 and made available by Greenpeace, showing a whale catcher ship Kyo Maru 1, using a harpoon to catch a whale in Southern Ocean. A UN court in The Hague on 31 March 2014 halted Japan's much-criticized whaling programme, ruling that it contravenes a 1986 moratorium on whale hunting. Japan must end its 'research whaling' programme, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) said. Japan said the programme was for scientific research and permitted under international conventions. Australia had brought the case to the ICJ in 2010, charging that Japan was breaching international law by killing hundreds of whales every year for commercial purposes. Japan was “deeply disappointed” by the ruling, an unnamed government official was quoted by the Kyodo News agency as saying. But the official said Japan would stand by the ruling. EPA/JEREMY SUTTON-HIBBERT / HO HANDOUT EDITORIAL USE ONLY/NO SALES *** Local Caption *** 99356789