Japan Set to Import African Ivory
12/22/98
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Title: Japan Set to Import African Ivory
Source: United Press International
Status: Copyrighted, contact source to reprint
Date: 12/22/98
Byline: Tony Laszlo
TOKYO, Dec. 22 (UPI) -- Japan is preparing for a one-time-only purchase of
65 tons of African ivory set for next March.
If the officials of the United Nations Convention on International Trade
in Endangered Species gives the transaction the thumbs up in February, the
precious 'white gold' from Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana will find its
way to Japan in the following month.
Ivory transactions between all other nations would remain strictly
prohibited under a sales ban set in 1990.
Miyamura Yasuo of Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry
says: ``I am confident that Japan will get the nod. Our country has been
selected as the sole importer on this deal because our domestic laws have
been adjusted to meet the conditions of the Washington Treaty.
Furthermore, we have gained the approval of environmental groups.''
One such group is TRAFFIC Japan, an agency that monitors the illegal
trade of products from endangered species. TRAFFIC contends that Japan
has been chosen simply because it has traditionally been one of the
largest markets for ivory products, not because its regulations meet a
particular standard.
Kiyono Chisako, spokesperson for the group, said her organization had
yet to endorse Japan's new ``Law for the Endangered Species of Wild
Fauna and Flora,'' which was announced last May.
Kiyono is still scrutinizing the government's ability to keep black
market tusks out of Japan's marketplace. She said, ``We are not opposed
to the March import deal. But we must be sure that dealers won't be
stocking cheap illegal ivory.''
TRAFFIC noted in a recent report that under the Japanese monitoring
system of the past, merchants handling ivory were only required to
comply with government checks on a ``voluntary'' basis.
According to Miyamura, Japan's trade ministry has been lecturing both
wholesalers and retailers on the need to run a clean ship. However, Mr.
Yokota, proprietor of a small retail shop in central Tokyo that deals in
ivory, said he hadn't heard anything about any changes in the system.
Yokota's shop specializes in ``hanko,'' the name-seals used for signing
documents.
At his shops, an ivory block the size of one's thumb goes for $350 to
$500, about twice the price of similar seals made from water buffalo
horn. Hanko can also be made from wood at about one-fifth the price of
ivory.
Yokota proudly pointed to an ``emblem of approval'' bearing the
letters CITES, for the U.N. organization. ``I got this two years ago
from my wholesaler,'' said Yokota. ``It puts customers' minds at ease.
If there are any changes being introduced, it must be happening at the
wholesale level.''
Yokota doesn't think he and his fellow retailers will present any
large problems. ``I just sell hanko,'' he said. ``Buying poached ivory
couldn't possibly be worth it to me. If there's going to be any illegal
ivory in Japan, you'll probably find it at shops that specialize in
sculptures or accessories.''
MITI statistics, however, show that hanko accounted for more than
three-fourths of all ivory transactions in Japan between 1996 and 1997
while sculptures and accessories together made up only 7 percent of
total sales for that period.