Japanese people should stop eating whale and try fruit instead, East Timorese President Jose Ramos Horta has suggested.
Dr Ramos Horta has backed Australia's opposition to whaling at a crucial International Whaling Commission summit underway in Morocco.
"Humanity, the oceans, cannot continue to sustain (the) Japanese voracious sashimi appetite," he told the National Press Club on Wednesday during a five-day visit to Australia.
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Dr Ramos Horta recommended Japanese people try five years on a whale-free diet.
"Why not go vegetarian, why not eat more fruit, we all make sacrifices."
The Nobel-prize winning leader said he was a great friend of Japan, but said it was "irresponsible, excessive on the part of Japanese consumers" to eat whale.
The week-long IWC summit is considering a compromise proposal to lift the ban on commercial whaling while reducing the total number of whales killed.
Australia is opposing the compromise and wants a total whaling ban, a stance supported by Dr Ramos Horta, who said it was time for an outright ban, not more restrictions.
East Timor is not a member of the IWC.
