"Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures" to Hold First Meeting - Toward thorough implementation of the trade control for ivory products and information dissemination regarding the trade control Joint Press Release with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

On May 24, 2016, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of the Environment (MOE) will hold the first meeting of "Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures".
The Council will bring together officials from related ministries and agencies, stakeholders from the ivory industry, e-commerce industry, information and communication-related associations, association for monitoring wildlife trade and experts to discuss thorough and appropriate implementation of the ivory trade control to allow for the sustainable use of ivory and ivory products and information dissemination regarding the trade control.

1. Purpose of the Council

In recent years, as international community's interest has been growing toward e-commerce which has become a common channel of trade in wildlife including parts of endangered species such as ivory and ivory products, this current situation has been addressed at relevant meetings of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) among other fora.

In light of this situation, it is important for Japan to make further efforts in diverse aspects such as enhancing appropriate implementation of the existing domestic trade control for ivory and ivory products, and to further disseminating relevant information to people in Japan and overseas.

In an effort to gather expertise from a variety of stakeholders in broad fields in order to continue to advance the efforts above, METI and MOE have established "Public-Private Council for the Promotion of Appropriate Ivory Trade Measures", and the Council will hold its first meeting on May 24, 2016.

2. Outline of the first meeting

- Date and time: 14:00-15:30, Tuesday, May 24, 2016

- Venue: Common Meeting Room 5 on the 17th floor, METI Main Building

3. Participating organizations ("*" indicates secretariat of the Council)

[Public sector]

- Wildlife Division, Nature Conservation Bureau, MOE*

- Paper Industry, Consumer and Recreational Goods Division, Manufacturing Industries Bureau, METI*

- Director for Economic Crimes Investigation, Community Safety Bureau, NPA

- Global Environment Division, International Cooperation Bureau, MOFA

- Coordination Division, Customs and Tariff Bureau, MOF

- Office of Trade Licensing for Wild Animal and Plants, Trade and Economic Cooperation Bureau, METI

[Private sector]

- Ihojohotou Taio Renrakukai (Telecommunications Carriers Association (TCA), Telecom Service Association (TELESA), Japan Internet Providers Association (JAIPA), Japan Cable and Telecommunications Association (JCTA))

- Zennippon Inshogyo Kyokai

- Zenkoku Inban Yohin Shoko Rengokai

- Traffic East Asia Japan

- Tokyo Ivory Arts and Crafts Association *

- Yahoo Japan Corporation *

- Rakuten, Inc. *

- DeNA Co., Ltd.

[Experts]

- Prof. Nobuo Ishii, professor, Tokyo Woman's Christian University

- Prof. Yoshio Kaneko, professor, Iwate Prefectural University

For further inquiry on this press release, please contact:

Wildlife Division
Nature Conservation Bureau
Ministry of the Environment, Japan
Tel (Dial in) : +81 (0)3 5521-8284

For Japanese