WORLD : Japan Switches, Agrees to Abide by World Ban on Ivory Imports
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LAUSANNE, Switzerland — Japan, the world’s largest consumer of ivory, reversed itself and agreed today to abide by an international ban on ivory imports, a move seen as vital to the effort to save the African elephant from extinction.
Japan announced its acceptance on the last day of a two-week conference of CITES, the French acronym for the International Convention on Trade in Endangered Species.
“Japanese observation of the ban was vital because it could never be effective without Japan, which accounts for around 40% of world imports of ivory,” a CITES spokesman said.
The announcement followed a decision earlier in the day by the Japanese Cabinet in Tokyo. Officials said Environment Agency Director General Setsu Shiga urged Japan to reverse its position as a major importer in order to avoid isolation in the international community.
Some conservationists estimate that numbers of African elephants have plunged in the last decade from about 1.3 million to 625,000.
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