"Japan intends to send its whaling fleet back to the Antarctic this year, a senior official has told BBC News.

There has been speculation that campaigns by activists, money problems and new rules at sea might persuade Tokyo to stop Antarctic whaling.

But at the International Whaling Commission (IWC) meeting, Japan's Joji Morishita said the plan was to return.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, which forced the last hunt's early closure, says it will be back too."

Richard Black reports for BBC News July 12, 2011. [2]