LAUNDERING IVORY

Only registered ivory shipped before a 1989 ban on exports under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) can be traded in Japan.

At CITES meeting in September, 182 countries approved a non-binding proposal to end domestic trading that animal rights groups say has spurred a revival in poaching.

Japanese officials, however, have so far said they are reluctant to stop trading on Yahoo Japan or elsewhere because they believe only pre-ban ivory is traded.

"If you closed down a well-established market like Japan it would not stop the killing. It would drive the market underground," said a spokesman from the Japan's Ministry of the Environment.

Nobody, however, knows how much ivory came to Japan before 1989 or how much remains unregistered, raising suspicions about shipments to China.

"Regrettably, that makes us vulnerable to criticism," said the official from the environment ministry, which estimates there is about 2,000 tons of ivory in Japan, of which only 300 tons is registered.

That registration and accompanying third party confirmation is subject to few checks to stop poached ivory entering the market, animal rights groups say.

"The third party requirement is the problem, even family members are allowed," said Masayuki Sakamoto, an official at EIA. "It is kind of official laundering."

($1 = 118.0400 yen)