PRESS RELEASE: Submission of a Request to the New Minister of the Environment Calling for Stricter Regulations on the Ivory Trade

• 10/13/2026
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On July 28th, the Ministry of Environment issued a press release on the report of the Act for Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (ACES) Review Committee. The Central Environment Council will be consulted on specific details, and the Subcommittee on Wildlife will continue deliberations on the necessary measures regarding items to be incorporated into the bill to amend ACES, which is scheduled to be submitted to the Diet next year. However, it remains highly uncertain whether specific measures to further tighten controls on ivory trade will be included in the bill.

On September 28, 2026, the Environmental Investigation Agency US, Japan Tiger and Elephant Fund, Japan Wildlife Conservation Society, and Tears of the African Elephant submitted a formal request to the new Minister of the Environment, containing the following recommendations.

The ivory trade control system needs to be strengthened significantly to ensure traceability and legality throughout the entire supply chain—from whole tusks to processing into finished products and final sale. Specifically, we recommend that:

1) the range of ivory eligible for registration be expanded;

2) the range of ivory for which traceability forms are required be expanded;

3) registered ivory businesses be prohibited from accepting ivory without a traceability form;

4) monitoring and enforcement of compliance with ivory registration and traceability form requirements be increased;

5) registered ivory businesses be required to report on ivory tusk transactions; and

6) mandatory protocols for ivory businesses (including e-commerce) to confirm that purchasers do not intend to export be implemented.

Minister of the Environment Hiroyoshi Sasagawa possess deep expertise regarding the regulation of the ivory trade. Back in 2017, prior to the Cabinet’s consideration of the bill to amend the Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (ACES), he—acting on behalf of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Environment Division—clarified a position that respected the Ministry’s stance while emphasizing that the future maintenance of the ivory market was contingent upon gaining the international community’s understanding regarding the tightening of legal regulations and their enforcement. Subsequently, during a question-and-answer session with the Minister of the Environment at the House of Representatives Committee on the Environment in 2019, he pointed out that Japan had reached the stage where it should move to the next phase and urged the Ministry to conduct a review of the matter. We hope that significant tightening of the ivory trade regulation will be achieved in next year’s Diet session through amendments to ACES.