The same telephone poll, which drew 2,082 responses last weekend, found 56 percent were in favour of eating whale meat while 26 percent were against it.

The poll comes after a high-profile standoff in the Southern Ocean last month, in which two anti-whaling activists boarded a Japanese whaling ship, briefly suspending Japan's plan to kill nearly 1,000 minke and fin whales this Antarctic summer.

The standoff was resolved after the activists, an Australian and a Briton, were handed over to an Australian fisheries icebreaker.

Japan, which considers whaling to be a cherished cultural tradition stretching back centuries, abandoned commercial whaling after agreeing to an international moratorium in 1986. It began what it calls a scientific research whaling programme the following year.

Australia released on Thursday pictures of whales being killed by Japan in the Southern Ocean, prompting accusations from Tokyo that it was trying to fan a diplomatic confrontation.

A photo of an adult minke whale and her calf being towed up the rear ramp of a Japanese factory processing ship in Antarctic waters prompted headlines including: "They call it science".

Japan said on Friday Tokyo would send a letter of protest over the photos and comments by Australian Environment Minister Peter Garrett, who said he had "felt a bit of a sick feeling" after seeing them.

"(The minister) has made a remark that we don't see as level-headed, and we would like to express our regret through a diplomatic channel," Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Masatoshi Wakabayashi, was quoted by Kyodo news agency as saying.

Australia's Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has promised a stronger effort to try to stop Japan's whaling programme, though both countries have agreed not to let the issue hurt bilateral ties.

Australia has sent a fisheries and customs patrol ship to the Southern Ocean to gather photo and video evidence of Japan's scientific whaling for a possible challenge in international legal tribunals.