Conservation group says Japan aiding in illegal ivory trade

Why wouldn't you want to ban this immediately? I guess online ivory trading is a 'tradition' in Japan.

But Japan has resisted closing its own domestic market, contending that ivory products traded inside the country are not acquired through poaching or illegal deals. 

Of course, Japan is a special case...

Japan ought to just stop this for at least a year just to see what happens.

It seems that sightseers eventually buy these handiworks as souvenior.

Utter liars. There was a news feature (BBC I think) which went undercover to buy from someone who claimed everything he was selling was old, antique, inherited stuff. They proved him to be a liar too. Japan should be ashamed of itself, supporting the terrible suffering and slaughter of animals for this.

Totally not surprised by this. In politics and business in Japan you are only guilty when you get caught. Then, when you are, you say 'sorry' and do your best to set up someone else to continue what you were doing as you watch contritely, 10% pay cut, from afar. The old guard just continue what they have always done and the young do not give a toss. (If anyone knows where this news has been addressed in the local media (esp. newspapers) I would appreciate a heads up.)

I am guessing Yahoo Auctions is the un named platform where the trade mentioned in the article is taking place. It deserves to be named and shamed for allowing this to go on.

This trade exists not because of poachers and scrupulous trades people, but solely because there are too many stupid people on this planet. This idiocy of killing animals for the sake of making accessories and even worse, to brew up worthless libido improving concoctions from rhino horn etc., won’t stop until ignorant people stop buying such stuff. No market for these products means no more senseless killing of wild animals.

Japan has been on the wrong side of things ivory since, well, forever, clearly Customs lets this stuff in/out of the country on a very regular basis.

The mindset is no different when it comes to tuna & eel among many other things when it comes to Japan.

This is no surprise -- they've been doing this for ages. Rakuten was caught up in the scandal of selling ivory goods on its site ten years ago and since stopped listing shops that do it, but I know plenty of Japanese that are more than proud of their netsuke and other ivory goods, and if you talk about the ivory trade and poaching they say, "We have a right to buy and own such things; it's tradition. And anyway we don't do the poaching so it's not a Japanese problem," etc. etc. If you question it, it's an attack on the culture, as always.

"But Japan has resisted closing its own domestic market, contending that ivory products traded inside the country are not acquired through poaching or illegal deals."

This head-in-the-sand argument is pervasive here, and they seem to think there is no supply and demand when it comes to Japan acquiring things that involve illegal means of doing so and/or killing endangered species. I guarantee posters will come on here and decry the people posting instead of the practices.

As always, Japan wants to be an exception. I suppose those people trading ivory will just say "This is Japan".

Those poor majestic creatures. More valuable dead than alive to these people who want to buy this crap made out of ivory. Truly sad.

I'm not surprised at this... disappointed and annoyed, yes, but not surprised.

This is not the norm, thank goodness, but very much the exception. Most traders here are aware of the difficulties with ivory, but there are evidently still a few who will risk selling relatively new-looking ivory, like the stall said to be in Tokyo above. I suspect the stall holder is trying to move on unsold stock, hoping for ignorant punters. Modern "netsuke" as the article states, are trying to pose as something they are not.

Old ivory artifacts carved way back when is another field altogether.

"Guaranteed" what? If they really are ivory, then shame. If they are not, then more fool you.

The 'made in' tag is written in English, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

Any fool who pays these kinds of prices for stuff like that really deserves what they get.