Rakuten has been accused of being the world’s largest online ivory store, but will now phase out its sale.

Trade is legal in Japan for goods imported before 1989 – but no new stocks can be introduced into the country.

Many other countries have banned the outright trade over concerns that it contributes to elephant poaching.

Rakuten also banned the sale of sea turtle products on its website, telling the AFP news Agency that it was responding to “growing international concern.”

“We expect it to take 1-2 months for all lists of these banned products to be removed,” he said.

On the day of the announcement, a large number of ivory items were still listed for sale, including many carved personal seals known as “Hanko”.

It is expected that the sellers of such goods would be to keep a careful record of their origin and use only regulated by the government stocks of ivory.

But activists believe that the rules are often by-pass the border, and precious material is often smuggled through the border.

Yahoo Japan, another site that allows ivory sales, has previously come under fire for the practice.

However, a spokesman told Reuters he has no plans to stop the trade, saying: “We don’t think the legal ivory trade in Japan has any impact on African elephant numbers.”

“It is important to recognize that there are cultural differences between different countries,” he added.

The number of African elephants has plummeted in the past century, with an estimated 500,000 remaining on the continent.

China, a traditional powerhouse in the ivory trade, announced in December that it would ban all ivory activities and trade by the end of 2017.

Conservation groups hailed the decision as “historic” and a “game-changer” – but ivory artists have lamented the loss of a traditional craft.