Japan to Toughen Wildlife Protection Law

Tokyo, June 3 (Jiji Press)--Japan is set to drastically tighten its law against the capture and sale of endangered species of wild animals and plants. The first toughening of the wildlife protection law since it took effect in 1993 will include a hike in maximum fines for businesses that illegally trade in endangered animals and plants to 100 million yen from the current one million yen. Individuals who violate the law will be subject to prison terms of up to five years or fines of up to 5 million yen, compared with the current maximum punishments of one year and one million yen, respectively. The Environment Ministry presented a bill to toughen the law to the current session of the Diet, or parliament, on the grounds that the illegal trade of endangered animals and plants continues because the current act is too lenient. In May 2011, a Tokyo pet shop owner was arrested for selling two angonoka tortoises for a total of 7 million yen, much higher than the maximum fine under the existing law. Fines that greatly exceed profits from trafficking should be effective in stopping the illegal trade, a ministry official said in reference to the purpose of the proposed legislation. But experts note that the law protects only 90 species of animals and plants in Japan. Seven nature conservation groups issued a joint statement on April 19, urging the government to expand the coverage of the law promptly. The ministry now plans to designate an additional 300 species as endangered by 2020, up from its earlier plan to add 25 species for legal protection. Such designations are made after surveys of habitat and other conditions for the animals and plants concerned. As only 90 species have been designated in the 20 years since the law went into effect, however, some experts suggest it will be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to add 300 species to the protection list within a few years. "It would be impossible under the normal process," a ministry official in charge said, admitting that the designation procedures need to be changed. The ministry has yet to map out specific ways to revise the procedures, however. END