Japan denies using weapons vs anti-whaling group

Members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, aboard their ship the Steve Irwin (R), confront the Japanese ship the Kaiko Maru near Antarctica December 26, 2008.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan denied on Monday accusations by a U.S.-based hardline anti-whaling group that Japanese whaling ships had used weapons against activists on inflatable boats near Antarctica.

The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society said in a statement that two crew members were injured when Japanese whalers used water cannon, concussion grenades, acoustic weapons and threw brass and lead balls at Sea Shepherd boats.

The group said on Sunday that it had spotted the Japanese whaling fleet and was closing in on them.

"If our crew can hit them, then they would be better off quitting the research vessel and joining a professional baseball team," said Shigeki Takaya, an assistant director of the Far Seas Fisheries Division at Japan's fisheries ministry.

Takaya said that the Japanese fleet had used hoses on two Sea Shepherd two boats after sending warnings, accusing Sea Shepherd crew members of throwing bottles containing dyes and strong-smelling liquid at its boats. No one was injured, he said.

Despite a commercial whaling ban under a 1986 treaty, Japan continues what it calls a scientific whaling program, drawing criticism from anti-whaling countries such as Australia, Britain and New Zealand, as well as environmental groups.

Its annual hunt is aimed at catching about 900 whales.

Sea Shepherd, blamed for collisions with the Japanese fleet in recent years, has used confrontational tactics widely criticized by pro-whaling groups and fellow environmentalists. But it has also attracted some high-profile supporters.

(Reporting by Yoko Kubota; Editing by Paul Tait)