Japan Coast Guard obtains arrest warrant for antiwhaling activist

TOKYO, March 11 Kyodo -
The Japan Coast Guard on Thursday obtained an arrest warrant for a member of
antiwhaling group the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society on suspicion of
trespassing on a vessel of Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic Ocean last
month.
The New Zealand national has been detained on the Shonan Maru No. 2 and will be
arrested after the ship arrives in Tokyo on Friday morning in what the Coast
Guard said is its first case involving trespassing on a ship in international
waters.
While the Tokyo police have placed three Sea Shepherd members on the
international wanted list for sabotaging a Japanese whaling vessel in 2007, it
will be the first time that Japanese investigative authorities arrest a member
of the group.
The New Zealander, the captain of the Sea Shepherd vessel Ady Gil, is accused
of approaching the Shonan Maru No. 2 by jet ski and illegally boarding the
vessel on Feb. 15, according to the investigation.
The police will increase security around the port in Tokyo in preparation for
possible protests.
==Kyodo