The conservation group WWF urged Japan on Thursday to ban in principle all ivory trade within the country by 2020, saying its domestic market undermines international efforts to abolish illegal trade in ivory.While the United States, China and other countries have taken steps toward closing their domestic markets to protect endangered African elephants, Japan insists on maintaining its own, arguing its domestic trading is unrelated to poaching.After receiving a written request from the WWF, the Japanese Environment Ministry indicated its intent to strengthen measures to stop the smuggling o…READ FULL ARTICLE
