Japan e-commerce giant Rakuten bans ivory products

Seized elephant ivory tusks are seen during a press conference at the Kwai Chung Customhouse Cargo Examination Compound in Hong Kong on July 6, 2017. -AFP filepic

TOKYO: Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten has banned the sales of ivory products on its site, the company said Friday in a move hailed by conservation activists as a boost to international efforts to stem smuggling.

Rakuten had been accused for years of providing the world’s largest online marketplace for ivory, which could fuel smuggling through poor law enforcement.