PRESS RELEASE: The reality of ivory slipping into Japan’s legal markets and being illegally exported overseas through legal loopholes has been revealed: Closing the domestic ivory market is essential

• 02/02/2026
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On February 2, 2026, it was reported that the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department arrested the suspects and sent the documents about the suspect not arrested and the suspected companies to prosecutors regarding the illegal trade of unregistered ivory (whole ivory). The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Ministry of the Environment also issued press releases regarding this matter.

The high illegality of this case

This case is particularly illegal for the following reasons:

-Registered businesses did not simply sell unregistered whole tusks on the black market; instead, they falsely represented them as ivory-like materials at an internet auction, thereby allowing them to be sold in the legal market.

This case reveals the widespread practice of registered businesses exploiting loopholes of Act for Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (ACES) to sneak illegally obtained ivory into the legal market.

-One of the buyers of ivory from this registered business was an export agent who purchased the ivory for export to Thailand.

This reveals part of the process by which ivory obtained on the legal market via a registered business is illegally exported overseas.

– Another registered business that purchased tusks from this registered business divided them up into pieces so that they did not legally need to be registered, and then resold them.

This reveals that a registered business is taking advantage of a major loophole in the ivory registration system. There is suspicion that this loophole is being widely abused.

We must not allow the illegal ivory trade to drive elephants to extinction

Japan’s legal ivory market, one of the largest in the world, is not effectively managed. Ivory is being exported overseas by registered ivory dealers and international smuggling groups who exploit legal loopholes. As a result, global demand for ivory is stimulating and the risk of elephant poaching is increasing. Japan should comply with the resolution adopted by CITES and amend ACES to close Japan’s domestic ivory market.

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Reference 1: Outline of Domestic Ivory Trade Restrictions under the Species Conservation Act

While the trade of ivory is generally prohibited, extremely broad exceptions are permitted. As a result, trade in any and all ivory is permitted. However,

– Trade in whole ivory (whole tusks)[1] is prohibited unless they were registered as having been imported before the international trade ban under CITES or as having been imported with permission under the Convention after the ban.[2]

– Commercial trade in ivory other than whole tusks (“Special International Species Business”) must not be conducted without “Business Registration”.[3]

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Reference 2: Summary of this case (Unless otherwise quoted, based on announcements from METI and MoE,[1] and TMPD[2])

Suspect (Corporation): Chao Japan Co., Ltd. (Representative: Naoto Takemae; Address: 4869-11 Takai, Takayama Village, Kamitakai District, Nagano Prefecture; Special International Species Business Registration Number: 06286; Secondhand Goods Dealer)

Suspect: Naoto Takemae (Residence: Kamitakai District, Nagano Prefecture; Age: 47) Arrested

Suspect: Masaharu Orimi (Residence: Yasuura-cho, Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture; Age: 53; Special International Species Business Registration Number: 05936) Arrested

Suspect: Mr. Yoshida[3] (48 years old, Kure City, Hiroshima Prefecture) arrested

Suspect (corporation): Tarawaddy Co., Ltd. (Representative: Nakatsuru Glissaner, Address: 9-3-2 Yoshida, Nakano City, Nagano Prefecture)

Suspect: XX (name unknown, Director of Tarawaddy, 33 years old, Shimotakai District, Nagano Prefecture) referred to prosecutors

1. Suspect Takemae is the representative director of Chao Japan, a suspect corporation engaged in the secondhand goods business:

First, between February 1, 2025, and April 7, 2025, he advertised three whole African elephant tusks he had recovered during estate clearance and other processes[4] on three occasions on an internet auction site, without registering them, on an internet auction site as “ivory-like mammoth natural material”[5] and posting images, the selling price, and the fact that they were for sale; and

Second, between February 1, 2025, and April 7, 2025, he transferred the three unregistered whole tusks to three individuals, Orimi, Yoshida, and XX, for a total purchase price of 1,083,690 yen.

2. Orimi and Yoshida conspired to acquire one unregistered whole tusk shipped by Takemae at Orimi’s residence on or around February 20, 2025, for a purchase price of 553,620 yen. The suspects cut the tusk into small pieces and sold them to third parties.[6]

3. Suspect XX is a director of the suspect corporation Tarawaddy, which operates as an export agent, and on February 12, 2025, he acquired an unregistered whole tusk sent by Takemae for 382,260 yen. Suspect XX had planned to export the ivory to Thailand.[7]

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[1] Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry announcement dated February 2, 2026: “Arrest of suspects in violation of the Species Conservation Act”

https://www.meti.go.jp/press/2025/02/20260202002/20260202002.html

Ministry of Environment dated February 2, 2026: “Arrest of suspects in violation of the Species Conservation Act”　https://www.env.go.jp/press/press_02768.html

[2] “Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department: Information on the arrest of suspects in violation of the Act on Conservation of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” attached to METI and MoE announcement dated February 2, 2026

[3] TBS article dated February 2, 2026: “Metropolitan Police Department: Three men arrested for illegally selling ivory, including the head of a purchasing and sales company; suspected of earning approximately 1.08 million yen”

https://newsdig.tbs.co.jp/articles/-/2439744?display=1

[4] TBS article dated February 2, 2026

[5] Sankei Shimbun article dated February 2, 2026: “47-year-old secondhand goods dealer arrested for allegedly selling unregistered ivory online: ‘I was having trouble disposing of it.'” https://www.sankei.com/article/20260202-GKWC4PE62JMBTLZEMO6Z2GKRQY/

[6] NHK article dated February 2, 2026: “Metropolitan Police Department arrests three secondhand dealers for allegedly selling unregistered ivory online” https://news.web.nhk/newsweb/na/nb-1000125822

Nikkei Shimbun article dated February 2, 2026: “Man arrested for selling unregistered ivory: ‘I was having trouble disposing of it'”

https://www.nikkei.com/article/DGXZQOUD022P70S6A200C2000000

[7] NHK article dated February 2, 2026