Interesting news in from Japan (where as you'll remember, the government recently took the bizarre step of prosecuting two of our activists for exposing corruption between their own Fisheries Agency and whaling company Kyodo Senpaku).

Whale expert and former councellor for the Institute of Cetacean Research (in whose name the commercial whaling operation which masquerades as 'scientific reseach' is officially conducted), Shigeko Misaki, has written a blistering letter to the Japan Times demanding that all whaling in the Southern Ocean should be ended:

Updates on the scandal involving the corrupt and powerful Japanese whaling industry (which is funded with taxpayers' money). Plus ways in which you can support our two activists, Junichi and Toru, who are still awaiting trial for intercepting a box of stolen whale meat, and delivering it to the police.

Full story on Greenpeace International website »

Update July 15 2008: After 23 days on remand Junichi and Toru have finally been released on bail today. We'd like to say a huge thank you to the many international Non-Governmental Organisations who signed a Statement of Concern about the situation, and above all to the quarter of a million people who sent an email to the Japanese government demanding their release.

Japanese police have arrested the two Greenpeace activists responsible for exposing a whale meat scandal involving the government-sponsored whaling programme. The two activists, Junichi Sato, 31, and Toru Suzuki, 41, are being investigated for allegedly stealing a box of whale meat which they presented as evidence.

Read more on our international site

Greenpeace Japan delivering stolen whale meat to the Tokyo Public Prosecutor's Office

You did it! Following last week's revelation that crew members from the fleet responsible for Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling programme had for many years been stealing and illegally selling off prime whale bacon at the end of each annual hunt, more than 40,000 of you wrote to the Japanese government to demand an investigation. Today the Tokyo district Public Prosecutor has confirmed that there will be one.

Update 20th May: Tokyo Public Prosecutor agrees to launch an investigation

Crew members from the factory ship at the heart of Japan's so-called 'scientific' whaling programme have been stealing and illegally selling off the best cuts of whale meat. Our four-month investigation uncovered disturbing evidence of an embezzlement ring operating on board the Nisshin Maru, the floating factory ship which processes the whales caught by the whaling fleet's hunting vessels in the Southern Ocean.

Yesterday at 3pm local time the Esperanza departed from Hobart in Tasmania, Australia bringing to a close the 2007/2008 Southern Ocean Expedition. The ship had arrived on Sunday evening to a great welcome from the people of Hobart, including the mayor and a number of councillors.

After spending close to two months tracking the Japanese whaling fleet, Esperanza was forced to leave the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary last week when her fuel supply started to run out. The sanctuary had remained fatality free for the whales during the previous fortnight while the Espy chased the factory whaling ship, the Nisshin Maru, across 5,000 miles of the Southern Ocean.

A Greenpeace inflatable prevents the Nisshin Maru from being refuelled by the Oriental Bluebird © Greenpeace/Jiri Rezac

A few days ago, the Esperanza - which had been pursuing the Japanese whaling fleet for two weeks - was forced to quit the chase and head back to port as the ship is running low on fuel. But this year's Southern Ocean expedition has been a resounding success.

After eleven days successfully preventing the Japanese whaling fleet from killing whales in the Southern Ocean, the crew of the Esperanza were this morning able to inconvenience them still further by delaying the refuelling of their factory ship, the Nisshin Maru.

Here's the latest video update from Esperanza, on patrol in the Southern Ocean Whale Sanctuary protecting fin and minke whales from whalers, plus a blog update from Dave, our intrepid onboard webbie: