On the 24th, the Environmental Division of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department filed charges against three men including one ivory products manufacturer and retailer from Uda city in Nara prefecture on suspicion of violating the LCES (for illegal transfer of goods).
The three admitted to all charges, claiming that they “thought that since the ivory had been carved, there was no need to register it.” According to the Department, the other two men charged were a part-time worker in Kobe city (49) and a company employee (54) in Chiba city. The two men offered ivory for sale on an Internet auction, and the man from Uda city made successful bids on both. The man from Uda city produces brushes and tea utensils out of ivory, and sells them.
The Chiba company employee offered ivory products derived from forest elephants, a kind of African elephant.
The results of an appraisal indicate that the ivory is likely to have been obtained from poaching. The Uda city suspect is alleged to have purchased two tusks last year in April and August, for which he paid a total of about 144,000 yen.