Singapore exports of raw and semi-worked ivory were seized in Hong Kong, Belgium, Taiwan, and Japan. Taiwan authorities have made a number of significant ivory seizures in the post-ban period. Illegal shipments involving Taiwan have been documented en route from South Africa, Malawi and Nigeria, in transit through the UK and entering Japan. Thailand continues to be a destination for illegal shipments of raw ivory, using routes involving Ethiopia, Djibouti, Belgium, Netherlands, Taiwan and Hong Kong. However, one key finding of the study is that not one of the eight countries and territories surveyed has adequate regulations to deal with the possible infiltration of illicit ivory into its legal domestic market, particularly ivory for making signature seals.
Japan has one of the most advanced domestic ivory trade control systems in the region.
A survey of 100 shops indicated that the system is particularly weak at the retail level for finished products. China may be an emerging ivory market, though little is known about the domestic market at this time. Recent smuggling cases involving Koreans in Africa are also cause for concern. Taiwan now has the strictest domestic ivory trade controls of the markets examined, but it may still function as a platform for illicit trade. In Hong Kong, a legislative loophole allowing a five-kilogram exemption for export of personal effects for departing residents has been habitually used for smuggling ivory out of the Territory.