which formally approached Australia to assist in the transfer -- did not lay out any conditions for the transfer , in which the men were brought on board the Australian ship , the Oceanic Viking . Watch the anti-whaling activists board the Japanese vessel '' Capt. Paul Watson , founder of Sea Shepherd , had said earlier that the men were seized by the Japanese crew and assaulted . Watch Watson describe the incident '' Sea Shepherd claims Japan 's Institute for Cetacean Research , which is backing the operations , had said it would release the two activists if Sea Shepherd agrees to stop interfering in its whaling operations . The group says it will not agree to that demand . The Japanese Fisheries Agency said Thursday it would readily hand over the two men . But the agency charged that the Sea Shepherd members were the terrorists . At a news conference earlier , the agency released pictures of broken bottles they claim group members threw at the ship . They also released a photo of the two activists relaxing and drinking tea aboard the Yushin Maru . `` For some time , for 10 , 15 minutes
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Two anti-whaling activists who were seized by a Japanese whaling vessel two days ago have been handed over to Australian government officials on a ship in the Antarctic , Japan 's Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced Thursday . Australian citizen Benjamin Potts and British citizen Giles Lane , both members of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society , jumped on board the Yushin Maru No. 2 Tuesday to deliver a letter saying the vessel was violating international law and Australian law by killing whales . The anti-whaling group accused the crew of the Japanese vessel of kidnapping the men based on a video that showed Potts and Lane tied to the ship 's railing . In the video , Japanese fishermen pace back and forth in front of them . Australian Foreign Minister Stephen Smith Wednesday did not answer questions about whether the men would be charged for their actions , stressing instead that the immediate priority was to retrieve them . `` I 'm not going to give a running commentary on who 's done what to whom and the various allegations and counter allegation , '' he said . Smith said the Japanese government --