Ivory trade is incompatible with the conservation of elephants

Stop Japan Ivory Trade

Elephants are iconic, majestic, ecological keystone species across Africa and Asia. They are threatened by climate change, habitat destruction… and poaching for their ivory tusks to supply the trade in ivory.

Legal ivory markets, like Japan’s, stimulate demand for ivory products, confuse consumers and weaken demand reduction efforts, and make enforcement efforts difficult.

To protect elephants from the trade in ivory, Japan must close its domestic ivory market for good.

Elephant Ivory vs. Japan: A Timeline

  • 1979

    African elephants number 1.3 million

  • 1980

    Japan becomes a Party to CITES; CITES enters into force in Japan

  • 1970-1989

    Japan imports ivory equivalent to more than 250,000 elephants, mostly poached

  • 1989

    African elephant population is cut down to 610,000

  • 1989

    CITES Appendix I listing for African elephants – International ban on commercial trade in ivory secured

  • 1992

    Japan enacts Law on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (LCES)

  • View the Full Timeline

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Full Timeline

Market Snapshot

Japan’s legal framework for the control of the trade in ivory is designed and built to regulate and facilitate commercial ivory trade and support ivory traders.

Japan essentially allows any sale of pre-convention ivory, except for unregistered whole tusks, as well as ivory purchased in the two CITES-approved sales. The Government’s stated ivory stockpile is currently 174.3 tonnes of registered whole tusks (16,656 tusks), nearly 80 tonnes of cut pieces, and millions of individual items - all available for sale. 

Japan has 5,500+ government-approved ivory traders who together operate more than 8,500 facilities, including for manufacturing, wholesale, and retail.

Japan’s ivory trade and industry remain active and Japan is still manufacturing new ivory products for its market. 

  • Stockpiles of registered whole tusks fell from 17,312 tusks (185,002 kg) as of December 2019 to 16,512 tusks (174,309 kg) as of December 2022, a decrease of 800 whole tusks (10,693 kg). 

  • According to detailed information provided by the Ministry of Environment, 207 whole tusks (weighing 3,289 kg) were also newly registered in that three-year time frame.

  • This means that 1,007 whole tusks (13,982 kg) were cut into pieces for production during that time. 

  • Given that the reported stockpiles of cut pieces and tips increased by 836 kg between 2019 and 2022 from 74,113 kg to 75,949 kg, it appears that more than 13.1 tonnes of raw ivory were used to produce new ivory merchandise between 2019 and 2022. 

Japan’s elephant ivory market is open for business.