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Japan defended its practice of 'scientific' whale hunting at the annual International Whaling Commission meeting on Wednesday, insisting it had yielded important scientific results.

Officials from Japan, which is pressing for the ban on commercial whaling to be lifted, said during the third day of the meeting in Santiago that their research has shown that whales are healthy and abundant in the Antarctic.

Researchers at Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research say they have discovered interesting information on the sexual maturation of whale species which they said could not have been obtained in any other way.

They added that since the moratorium on commercial whale-hunting came into force in 1986, many ..whale species populations have increased.

Countries that oppose whale hunting, such as Australia, the United States and many in the European Union and Latin America, have urged Japan to reconsider its program, arguing that research is possible without killing whales.

Some observers believe Japan's decision to present its findings to the IWC could open the door to ending the practice...