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Tokyo says Washington erred in announcing a whale pact
Japan denied Thursday it had agreed to stop all commercial whaling by 1988 and accused the United States of a unilateral action in announcing an accord. The Commerce Department had announced a compromise that would allow the Japanese to take up to 400 sperm whales in the 1984 and '85 whaling seasons. The limit would drop to 200 sperm whales for 1986 and '87. By 1988, all Japanese whaling would cease.