Australia’s Application to the ICJ Causes Japanese Government to Fall!

I’m sure that this smashing application by Australia to the ICJ is the proximate reason for the Japanese Prime Minister’s sudden resignation today. Behold the power of the World Court litigation! OK, I’m violating my late-night blogging rule (see earlier posts for my dumb brain cramps when I blog at midnight) and getting a little punchy. But it is a weird coincidence, isn’t it?

Although the full Australia application is not online yet, the argument looks like it tracks the expected claims under the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling with secondary arguments under CITES and the U.N. Convention on Biodiversity. More details later when the full application is put up online. Will the new Japanese Government be willing to make a deal?