Sao Paulo, June 12 (Jiji Press) — Brazil respects the position of Japan, which plans to resume commercial whaling next month after a hiatus of three decades, Brazilian environment minister Ricardo Salles said in a recent interview with Jiji Press.

“We respect the position of Japan, but Brazil is against whale hunting,” Salles said, signaling a certain level of understanding for Japan’s resumption of commercial whaling.

In December, Japan announced a decision to pull out of the International Whaling Commission, where the country has been under fire from countries such as the United States, Britain and Australia for its whaling practices.

Salles said that the positions of Japan and Brazil are “equivalent,” citing strong international reactions against the development of the Amazon forest in Brazil.

“Other countries had too much passion and less reason on the issue of deforestation.” Salles said. Every issue, including in the environment field, “should always be treated equivalently, with common sense and technical data,” he said.

“We want harmony between economic development and preserving the environment,” Salles said.

Salles is set to visit Japan for a meeting of Group of 20 energy and environment ministers, set for Saturday and Sunday in Karuizawa in the central prefecture of Nagano.