Mr. Splashy Pants and his fellow Humpback whales got an early Christmas present today. Japan’s announced that it won’t be harpooning 50 humpback whales on its current whaling expedition as originally planned.

Chief government spokesman Nobutaka Machimura acknowledged that the decision was due partly to pressure from Australia:

“It’s true that Australia expressed quite a strong opinion to Japan on this. As a result, I hope that this will lead to better relations with Australia.”

Machimura confessed, however, to being slightly baffled by Australia’s fondness for the whales:

“Australians consider whales to be very affectionate, something I can’t really relate to. But apparently they give names to every whale and there’s quite strong public sentiment.”

Yes, they give names to every humpback whale. They call them all “Mr. Splashy Pants.” Now, if only Greenpeace could come up with a catchy name for the nearly 1,000 other whales Japan is still planning to hunt on its expedition.