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 was to be arrested upon the ship's arrival in Tokyo on Friday morning in what the coast guard said is its first case involving trespassing on a ship in international waters.
The New Zealander, who commanded the Ady Gil, is accused of approaching the Shonan Maru No. 2 by jet ski and illegally boarding it Feb. 15, according to the investigation.
