Anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd has labelled Japan's non-lethal whale research program as "farcical".
Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research has announced the research program will get under way in Antarctic waters this week and will run until the end of March.
The ICR says the program uses techniques like sighting surveys and biopsy sampling.
None of the three ships involved in the research will be equipped with harpoons capable of killing whales.
Captain Peter Hammarstedt from Sea Shepherd has slammed Japan's actions.
"The government of Japan's farcical, non-lethal whaling initiative must be seen in the context of a greater criminal conspiracy," he said in a statement.
"The government of Japan has already announced their plans to resume the killing of whales in 2015/2016, despite condemnation from the highest court in the world, the International Court of Justice."
He believes data collected during this season will be used to kill whales in as little as a year from now.
"Japan's non-lethal program is the equivalent of robbers casing a bank in preparation for a robbery; the heist that robs the world of its most majestic creatures."
Non-lethal whale research wasn't contested in last year's International Court of Justice case between Australia and Japan, with New Zealand intervening.
The ICJ ruled that Japan's lethal whaling program didn't serve scientific research purposes.
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