The Cites agreement on resuming the elephant trade allows only one country, Japan, to buy stocks. The sale, which would initially be of government stockpiles, is conditional on strict safeguards being put in place before that time to prevent poached ivory from entering the market. Most adults have a set of three hanko, each with a different design and a different use. Hanko are also used in China and South Korea, but the demand for them to be made of ivory is strongest in Japan. The quality of the print is clearer and it is far easier to work with.
Ivory also commands the highest prices.
According to the National Seal Engravers Cooperative Association, the 1989 ivory ban drove prices up by 500 per cent, putting top quality hanko out of the price range of many consumers and hitting the industry hard. More importantly, legalising international trade should improve the image of ivory - people will be able to buy ivory goods without feeling that they are doing something wrong. Japanese conservationists, however, have raised concerns that the nation's system of regulating sales of hanko and other ivory products is inadequate. By law, all ivory sales in Japan must be registered and there are spot checks of establishments that make or sell hanko and other ivory goods. However, although this law was enacted two years ago, the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said only one case had been bought to trial.