crime

Illegal ivory trade rife in Japan: report

18 Comments
By Julian Ryall for BCCJ ACUMEN

An undercover investigation by a non-profit environmental group founded in London 31 years ago has revealed widespread fraud that is fuelling Japan’s illegal trade in ivory. Authorities are accused of failing to live up to their commitment to ensure that only legally acquired ivory is bought and sold nationwide.

In a report issued in December 2015, the group, the Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA), claims the system used in Japan to register tusks as legally obtained is “awash” with fraud, which encourages poachers and smugglers to carry on the slaughter of endangered elephants in Africa.

The report reveals that a suspiciously high number of tusks have been registered in recent years, with more than 5,500 of them having been certified as legally obtained and sold on the market in Japan over the past four years.

Under the terms of the United Nations Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), Japan agreed to require that all whole ivory tusks imported prior to the 1989 international ban on ivory trade be registered with the government. The Japanese authorities also agreed to require proof of legal origin and acquisition.

An investigation carried out in the summer of 2015 by the EIA, however, indicates that the system is essentially useless, said Allan Thornton, president, during a recent visit to Japan.

“The point of the scheme is to be able to detect illegal tusks that come onto the Japanese market”, he said.

The EIA began to become concerned at the increased number of tusks being registered, and set about “testing the integrity of the registration system”. The operation involved a woman contacting 37 firms that advertise themselves as ivory dealers.

Her cover story was that she had inherited an unregistered tusk from her father. Critically, the woman told the dealers that it had been acquired after the CITES ban.

“We expected to find a few bad apples and some illicit activity, but we were shocked to find that 80% of the companies we approached offered to provide some sort of illegal activity”, Thornton said.

The illegal proposals included offers to falsify paperwork to make the tusk meet registration requirements, have the tusk registered under a false name or ask the trader to purchase the tusk and immediately cut it, reselling the finished works.

All that is required is a written statement by a person who owns a tusk to say where and when they acquired it, and a document supporting that claim, which can be as simple as a statement by a third party. Beyond that, there are no further checks conducted to verify the registration.

“It was quite shocking”, Thornton said. “The registration system was put in place to identify and stop these tusks coming onto the market [in Japan], but it is actually facilitating that trade”.

Even more worrying, the Japanese government has been aware of the loopholes in its system. In 2001, the Japan Wildlife Research Center provided the Ministry of the Environment with details of the ways in which the system could be abused.

“We conclude”, Thornton added, “that the government of Japan has not met its legal obligation that it agreed by signing the convention on the trade in endangered species”.

According to a government report, issued in May 2014, there were 7,570 registered ivory retailers in Japan, as well as 300 firms that made items from ivory and more than 500 wholesalers.

Much of the trade today is carried out over the Internet, with Yahoo! Japan and Rakuten Ichiba listing tens of thousands of ivory items for sale.

A further study by the EIA monitored transactions on one site over 24 hours in August, and found more than 6,000 adverts for ivory products—such as hanko (name seals), netsuke (miniature figurines) or bachi (the plectrum used to play the biwa and shamisen)—with a sales value of 559.2 million yen.

“There seems to be an almost complete absence of control over the ivory trade here, and companies are operating quite openly”, Thornton said.

The CIE has submitted a dossier on its study to the Japanese police and is calling for an investigation into the firms that are operating illegally. Similar dossiers have been given to the ministries of the environment, trade and foreign affairs, according to Thornton.

Asked what their reactions were, he said they seemed “surprised”.

Environmental groups have reported another upsurge in poaching in Africa, with an estimated 50,000 elephants killed for their tusks annually. The rarer forest elephant species, which are found in just six African countries, suffered a “catastrophic decline” of 65% between 2002 and 2013, according to the EIA.

The distinctive “hard ivory” from these species is particularly sought in Japan.

“The situation is dire”, the EIA report concludes.

Custom Media publishes BCCJ ACUMEN for the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

18 Comments
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A true shame. Why are Asian countries still so fixated on elephant and other animal tusks?

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Yep! Its common knowledge that anybody can walk into a hanko store and have hanko made from ivory without any explanations of its origin. There are also many nick-nack stores selling handmade sculptures and other items made from ivory. Its a shame it takes an non-profit organization to expose the illegal practice, even though Japan signed the agreement to stop international trade in ivory so many years ago.

5 ( +5 / -0 )

“There seems to be an almost complete absence of control over the ivory trade here, and companies are operating quite >>openly”, Thornton said.

Indeed, it is a country which is lacking seriously ground for morality, coming from the politician abusing the system in total impunity, a legal justice system closing their eyes or not based on your social position & self regulated corporations, the whole global atmosphere is "how to cheat to gain more".

5 ( +5 / -0 )

@Citizen2012,

So your saying that Japan is still living in the isolationist past where it is inconsequential what others, even the U.N. thinks?

If so, you are implying that Japan is not socially mature to become a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, no?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The same people would probably hand ¥1,000 they found in the street to the local koban, too.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

The report reveals that a suspiciously high number of tusks have been registered in recent years, with more than 5,500 of them having been certified as legally obtained and sold on the market in Japan over the past four years.

That's a lot of hanko.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The report reveals that a suspiciously high number of tusks have been registered in recent years, with more than 5,500 of them having been certified as legally obtained and sold on the market in Japan over the past four years. That's a lot of hanko

It also implies that 5,500 tusks have been sitting around since 1989, unused. Yeah, right. Japan leading the way on wildlife conservation (again).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

hmmm it's my understanding that high end hanko are made of ivory?! Noot sure why this is still allowed?!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Why not legalize and regulate the ivory trade? If a steady supply were available, this would largely eliminate business for poachers and the like. Much like legalizing marijuana will eliminate the drug dealers and organized crime cartels. Ivory is super expensive because it is illegal and the supply is irregular. Also, money from ivory could be used in conservation programs, anti-poaching campaigns, etc.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Very sad to hear, Japan! As a G8 nation I expect more from you.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Never understood why poachers have to kill an elephant to get the tusks. Elephants die every day. They go to their supposed "burial area" and lay down and die. Why not just go to one of these areas, and wait until one dies and take the tusks then? If you are going to spend the time and effort to skirt authorities and hunt for them and risk being shot and killed for ivory, it would seem better for all people to just wait until one dies and take the ivory then.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Never understood why poachers have to kill an elephant to get the tusks. Elephants die every day. They go to their supposed "burial area" and lay down and die. Why not just go to one of these areas, and wait until one dies and take the tusks then?

Maybe the quality of ivory isn't as good in older elephants. No idea though, I'm just speculating, because what you say makes sense.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Elephants die every day. They go to their supposed "burial area" and lay down and die. Why not just go to one of these areas, and wait until one dies and take the tusks then?

The 'elephants' graveyard' story is just a myth. Elephants do not go to a particular place, lie down and die. So the poachers cannot go to any such area to wait for an elephant to die.

The reason they don't just follow the elephants around and wait for one to die is that like most people making money illegally, they want the money now, not some time in the next 50 years when the animal they're following finally decides to die.

Just don't buy ivory, folks.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

like most people making money illegally, they want the money now, not some time in the next 50 years when the animal they're following finally decides to die.

If I were going to do something illegal, I would rather wait than slug it out in a firefight with game wardens. Elephants die daily. Poachers know where they roam. Simply wait it out and get it when one dies. By doing so, it will also probably raise the price of ivory (on the black market) since the poachers are putting in more time and risks.

Just don't buy ivory, folks.

Agree 100%.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Elephants die daily. Poachers know where they roam. Simply wait it out and get it when one dies

You may as well advise potential bank robbers not to rob the bank but to wait outside and follow old people home after they've used the ATM, in the off chance that they will drop some money. Or drop dead.

it will also probably raise the price of ivory (on the black market) since the poachers are putting in more time and risks.

But the poachers don't want to put in more time and risk. They want the payout now

0 ( +0 / -0 )

You may as well advise potential bank robbers not to rob the bank but to wait outside and follow old people home after they've used the ATM, in the off chance that they will drop some money. Or drop dead.

No comparison at all. When a elephant dies, it just decomposes. The ivory will be there until it is either swept away or buried under erosion. If the governments wanted to get a handle on this situation, they would hire the poachers to do just that, look for dead elephant bodies, and de-tusk them. Give them a job to do vice having them go out and kill. The ones who are pulling the triggers, are not getting paid that much. The real money is with the brokers who hire them to do the deed. Let these organizations/governments to that job Cut out the illegal brokers and have the tusks come from dead animals.

But, since even the governments in these areas are corrupt, it probably would not be long before they start looking the other way when their hired hands resort back to their old ways and kill them for the ivory.

But I would have thought with as many "smart people" as they like to call themselves in the UN and other organizations, they haven't tried that idea before.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

No ivory should be bought or sold PERIOD. Hanko & piano keys should be made from synthetic material.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Im supprised posters are supprised, Japanese aged politicians cherish their ivory hankos & their hair dye

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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