Japan's whaling fleet in the Antarctic will avoid killing humpback whales for now but will press on with plans to catch about 1,000 other whales by early in the new year, a government official said Friday. The move follows an announcement by Australia on Wednesday that it would send a fisheries patrol ship to gather evidence for a possible international court challenge to halt Japan's yearly slaughter.

"Japan has decided not to catch humpback whales for one year or two," Nobutaka Machimura, a government spokesman, told reporters.

"Japan's relations with Australia could improve, but it depends on how it will see our decision," Machimura said.

He said Japan made the decision after holding talks with the head of the International Whaling Commission.

Humpbacks, popular among whale watchers for their distinctive silhouettes and acrobatic leaps, were hunted to near extinction until the IWC ordered their protection in 1966. Plans by Japan to include 50 humpbacks in the hunt had sparked an outcry from activists.

Machimura said the IWC had not been "functioning normally," saying the international forum had been distorted by ideology. He said Japan would suspend humpback whale hunting while the IWC held talks on "normalizing" its functions. But Japan would continue with its "scientific research" whaling, Machimura said.

Japan's whaling fleet set sail last month with plans to catch more than 1,000 whales, including 50 humpbacks. It is due to return to port early next year.

Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura of Japan said earlier Friday that he wanted to discuss whaling with his Australian counterpart. Komura defended Tokyo's whaling program, saying that it was in line with international treaties and that he saw no problem with it. Komura said he would like to speak with his Australian counterpart soon. "We will try to seek each other's understanding," he said.

Japan, which says whaling is a cherished cultural tradition, abandoned commercial whaling in accordance with an international moratorium in 1986 but began what it calls a scientific research whaling program the following year.

The Australian Embassy in Tokyo said it and other embassies would deliver a document on whaling to the Japanese Foreign Ministry on Friday but declined to disclose the contents of the document or say how many other countries were involved.