Willing to Sell: Snapshot Investigations of Ivory Hanko Retailers in Japan
Japan is home to the world’s largest legal domestic ivory market, and its weak ivory trade controls enable consistent trafficking in ivory, including illegal exports.
EIA and Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund completed two snapshot investigations in 2020 as a follow-up to a similar 2018 investigation to determine retailers’ willingness to sell an ivory hanko knowing the customer planned to export it, which is illegal.
Investigations of Japanese hanko retailers revealed that many are willing to sell an ivory product knowing that it will be exported internationally despite most being aware that ivory export is illegal.
Recent Blog Posts
Still Waiting for Action: Tokyo's Ivory Trade Assessment
08/11/2021
The reality of the scope and impact of COVID-19 hit home for much of the world when the Tokyo 2020 Games were postponed. A year later and looking far different than ever expected or hoped, the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games finally arrived. As the host of the 2020 Games, Tokyo has come under increased scrutiny for its legal market for elephant ivory. Even as the Games were underway, the influential capital city faced mounting international pressure to close its legal ivory market for good. For World Elephant Day 2021, in between the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics, we take a look at where Tokyo stands in doing its part to protect the world's elephants from the threats of ivory trade and poaching.
Recent Reports
Letter: NGOs Make Recommendations for Tokyo Ivory Market Closure
10/07/2021
EIA and 30 international non-government environmental and conservation organizations sent a letter October 7, 2021, following up on previous appeals to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). Our organizations continue to urge Tokyo to close the market for elephant ivory and make specific recommendations in the letter to the TMG for moving forward. The letter can be viewed in English and Japanese.
Letter: NGO Appeal to the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games
06/25/2021
: EIA, JTEF, and HSI appeal to the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee President and Governor of Tokyo to take action to prevent illegal trade and export of elephant ivory products
Recent Press Releases
Tokyo Fumbles Short-Term Ivory Trade Action
06/25/2021
Conservation, environmental and animal welfare groups bemoaned measures announced today by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to address Tokyo’s illegal ivory trade as a missed opportunity. Tokyo’s short-term plan is focused only on consumer awareness and falls dramatically short of expectations for substantive action, instead replicating previous failed awareness efforts by Japan’s national government.
Japanese Retailers Willing to Sell Ivory Hanko for Illegal Export
12/17/2020
Investigations of Japanese hanko retailers revealed that many are willing to sell an ivory product knowing that it will be exported internationally despite most being aware that ivory export is illegal.