Japan prepares whaling submission

Japan is putting the finishing touches on a submission it hopes will pave the way for future commercial whaling in the Southern Ocean.

The Asian powerhouse is expected to lodge an application with the International Whaling Commission's scientific committee in November, to meet a deadline six months out from the agency's May meeting.

Despite an International Court of Justice ruling in March that Japan halt its annual Antarctic hunt of the marine mammal, there is ongoing pressure among the country's leaders for the cull to resume, international law expert Akiho Shibata said.

"A few, but very important, parliamentarians made a point that (Japan) should not stop whaling - either commercial or scientific - because of this judgment," the Japanese professor told AAP on Wednesday during a visit to Hobart.

They want experts to think of ways to justify the future of scientific and commercial whaling, he added.

To appear transparent, the document is expected to include written support from outside Japan for the continuation of whaling.

The submission will focus on two basic objectives for a "lethal take" of whales.

"They want to collect data to see whether commercial whaling can be possible in the future," Prof Shibata said.

This could include looking at whale stocks and the potential impact of future culls.

The second objective is to research the ecosystem of the Antarctic ocean.

"For this reason they might want to look at the stomach content of the whale: what they eat and how much they eat."

The IWC will comment on Japan's submission but doesn't have the power to block the plans.

It means that Japan will not conduct commercial whaling during the 2015/16 season but will spend some of that time trying to justify why it should be allowed to resume the practice in future years.

Whaling is on the agenda of the 7th Polar Law Symposium which started on Wednesday in Hobart.

It is the first time the meeting - which looks at laws governing both Antarctica and the Arctic - has been held in the southern hemisphere.

Prof Shibata delivered the keynote opening address at the forum.

Australia launched action in 2010 in the ICJ, claiming Japan was conducting a commercial whale hunt under the guise of science.

The action came amid drama on the seas southeast of Australia where protesters clashed with Japanese whaling vessels in the Southern Ocean.