Japan on Tuesday set out to kill more than 300 whales despite global outcry from activists and calls from some world leaders to halt the hunt.
The nation dispatched its first whaling fleet in more than a year into the Antarctic, where workers plan to hunt 333 minke whales in three months, CNN reported .
The country halted its whale hunt in 2014 after the International Court of Justice ruled the operation wasn't for "scientific research" and ordered the country to stop, adding that it had violated the global moratorium on commercial whale hunting.
Australian Environment Minister Greg Hunt and New Zealand's acting Foreign Minister Todd McClay condemned Japan for resuming its deadly mission.