Beekeepers producing honey from the flowers of false acacias are panicking about the possibility that the trees may soon be regulated as an exotic species.
In response, some have joined animal and plant researchers to set up a group to protect the tree also known as the locust but widely known in Japan as "nise akashia."
About 120 of them gathered in Tokyo's Hibiya district last month, distributing leaflets against moves to regulate the trees and honey.
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