The agency released pictures of broken bottles it claims the activists threw at the ship. It also showed a photo of the two men relaxing and drinking tea aboard the Yushin Maru.
Still, the image of the two men tied to the ship's railing is the one that has caused concern, leading to a call from the Australian government for the men's immediate release.
"For some time, for 10, 15 minutes, I understand, they were tied to a GPS mast," Tomohiko Taniguchi of Japan's Foreign Ministry told CNN. "The Japanese crew members feared that two crew members from Sea Shepherd might do something violent."
The killings are allowed under international law because their main purpose is scientific.
According to the Law the Japanese are aloud to be doing what they are doing, apart from the whole kidnapping part.
