Activist: I didn't mean to hurt Japanese whalers

TOKYO - An anti-whaling activist from New Zealand wept in a Tokyo court on Monday while remembering his anguish when his boat sank in a collision with a Japanese whaling ship, but said he had no intention of hurting whalers during later protests.

Sea Shepherd activist Peter Bethune is standing trial in a Tokyo court on charges including trespassing, vandalism, possession of a knife, obstructing business and assault. He pleaded guilty to all but an assault charge in Thursday's opening session.

Bethune, 45, admitted he had climbed aboard the Shonan Maru 2 in Antarctic seas to confront the Japanese captain for the destruction of a protest ship that sank during the collision a month earlier.