A committee meeting at an international conference for animal conservation in Johannesburg voted unanimously Sunday to ban domestic trade in elephant ivory, which is used mostly for personal hanko stamps in Japan and for piano keys and fashion accessories, among other items, elsewhere.
However, an exceptional clause will allow Japan to continue using the product, as the nation's representatives claimed the market here is rigorously controlled.
It is unusual for the U.N.'s Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), which restricts international trade, to refer to bans for domestic trade.