Ivory purchased legally in Japan is being illegally exported, undermining ivory market closures and the enforcement efforts of other jurisdictions. 

Since 2009, more than 5.4 metric tons of ivory have been illegally exported from Japan to China, primarily in small packages.* Between 2018 and 2020, at least 76 seizures of ivory from Japan were made by authorities elsewhere, mostly in China, according to open source information collated by the Environmental Investigation Agency. Of the 76 seizures, 72 were seized by China Customs.

In 2022, the Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund analyzed court decisions from cases of ivory smuggled from Japan to China, including incidents from 45 identified cases spanned from 2010 to 2019. Fifteen cases were from 2018 and 2019, after China’s ivory market closure was implemented. The details of these cases indicate a significant level of organized crime in the majority of illegal exports from Japan to customers in China. Learn more in Smugglers’ Source and Ripe for Abuse. 

Other studies have highlighted that Japan’s legal ivory market is appealing to international travelers on the hunt for ivory trinkets. A 2020 study of Chinese travelers to Japan found that 19 percent planned to purchase ivory products and an estimated 12 percent actually did make an ivory purchase. The surveyed travelers who made purchases illegally exported the ivory to China either by plane or through the mail – results which align with the analysis of the Chinese court cases.

With Japan’s border open again to international visitors, the possibility of an increase of international ivory buyers is highly likely. 

International seizures of legally purchased ivory in Japan make it clear that Japan’s domestic ivory market poses a threat to international efforts to combat poaching and the illegal ivory trade, particularly as others close their own domestic trades and markets shift. 

Japan must recognize that any open ivory market contributes to illegal trade and poaching and must do its part to protect elephants by closing its domestic ivory market.

*Data available upon request.