JAPAN has "bought the support" of the landlocked Asian nation of Laos as it desperately attempts to take control of the International Whaling Commission, Greenpeace says.

It was "fairly obvious" Laos – whose impoverished people neither hunt whale or eat whale meat – was only joining the IWC (and Japan's camp) in return for aid, Greenpeace CEO Steve Shallhorn told dailytelegraph.com.au tonight.

"Japan has bought the support of Laos," Mr Shallhorn said.

Shortly after Laos agreed to join the IWC – at Japan's request – Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced new development aid of $1 million to Laos for the removal of buried unexploded bombs.

"I think it's outrageous that Japan continues to recruit poor countries to assist them in the decimation of the world's whale population."

Australia is trying to keep in place a 21-year-old ban on commercial whaling.

But Japan is shoring-up support for its bid to legitimise commercial whaling, with Australia desperate for support once again from our Pacific Island neighbours to keep the ban in place.

An investigation by dailytelegraph.com.au has revealed Australia is on track to defeat Japan's attempt to overturn the whaling moratorium.

But that is only if our close northern neighbours, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati, at the very least abstain as they did in 2006 from a critical vote at the meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC).

The annual IWC meeting will be held in Anchorage, Alaska, at the end of the month.

Pro-whalers Japan, Iceland and Norway will try and convince as many nations as possible to vote with them to overturn the commercial whaling ban.

While Japan will not secure the 75 per cent majority it needs to overturn the ban, a simple majority would give it enormous impetus to change the way the IWC operates.

This would allow Japan to slowly but surely overturn the moratorium.

Since January this year, four countries have joined the IWC, bring the number of member nations of the commission to 74.

It's understood new additions Croatia, Ecuador and Cyprus will side with Australia and vote to keep the whaling moratorium in place.

The other new admission is Laos. Japan is the biggest aid donor to Laos, one of Asia's poorest countries.

"Japan requested co-operation on preserving traditional culture and we think the reason Laos agreed to join the IWC is to help improve friendly ties with Japan," said a Japanese foreign ministry official.

Last year Australia and anti-whaling allies the US, Great Britain and New Zealand defeated Japan's bid to win majority support to overturn the moratorium – by just one vote: 31-30.

In a huge blow to Japan, China abstained from the vote, as did the Republic of Korea, the Solomon Islands and Kiribati.

Five more countries, including Costa Rica, Peru, Slovenia and African nations Kenya and Senegal, did not attend the meeting.

It is not known exactly how these countries would vote, however Senegal, which neighbours pro-whaling nation Gambia, may also side with Japan.

Slovenia borders other anti-whaling nations including Italy, Austria and Hungary, so would be more likely to vote against Japan.

The major votes at this year's meeting will take place from May 28-31.