The Japan Coast Guard established a special security headquarters here Thursday to deal with antiwhaling groups that may try to interrupt an upcoming annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission, coast guard officials said.
The IWC meeting will be held in Shimonoseki, Yamaguchi Prefecture, from April 25 to May 24.
The objective of the headquarters is to maintain maritime security and public order in and around Shimonoseki, the coast guard officials said.
"The utmost security of sea traffic needs to be maintained because there are so many ships going through the Kanmon Strait (between Honshu and Kyushu) on a daily basis and antiwhaling groups may conduct demonstrations at sea," the coast guard said.