Japan has deployed troops to help contain a surge of bear attacks that have terrorized residents in a mountainous region in the northern prefecture of Akita
The UK Foreign Office has issued a travel warning for Brits planning to visit Japan.
This month Japan, which is regularly rated among the safest countries in the world, has called in the troops to help tackle a surge of bear attacks that have left residents living in fear in the mountainous region of Akita, in the north of the country. Reports of sometimes fatal encounters with brown bears and Asiatic black bears are coming in almost daily as the animals forage for food ahead of hibernation season.
The bears have been spotted near schools, train stations, supermarkets and even a hot springs resort. Since April, over 100 people have been injured and at least 12 killed in bear attacks across Japan, according to Environment Ministry statistics at the end of October.
The UK Foreign Office has now issued a travel warning for UK citizens. It reads: “Bear sightings and attacks have increased in parts of Japan, especially in mountainous and forested areas, including near populated zones. Follow local advice and alerts, and take precautions if travelling in these areas.”
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The travel warning urges holidaymakers in Japan to:
- research the region to learn about the local wildlife
- avoid walking alone in areas where bears have been sighted
- take all rubbish with you, including food waste
- report any sightings to local authorities
The increasing bear population’s intrusion into residential areas is occurring in a region with a rapidly ageing and declining human population, with few people trained to hunt the animals. The government has estimated the overall bear population at more than 54,000.
On Wednesday, the Defence Ministry and Akita prefecture signed an agreement to deploy soldiers who will set box traps with food, transport local hunters and help dispose of dead bears. Officials say the soldiers will not use firearms to cull the bears.
“Every day, bears intrude into residential areas in the region and their impact is expanding,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Fumitoshi Sato told reporters. “Responses to the bear problem are an urgent matter.”
The operation kicked off in a wooded area of Kazuno city, where numerous bear sightings and injuries have been reported. Soldiers donning white helmets, bulletproof vests, and armed with bear spray and net launchers, set up a bear trap near an orchard.
Takahiro Ikeda, an orchard owner, revealed that bears had devoured more than 200 of his ripe apples. “My heart is broken,” he confessed to NHK television. Akita Governor Kenta Suzuki expressed that local authorities were becoming “desperate” due to a shortage of manpower.
Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated on Tuesday that the bear mission aims to ensure people’s daily lives are secure, but emphasised that service members’ primary mission is national defence and they cannot provide unlimited support for the bear response. He noted that the Japanese Self-Defense Forces are already understaffed.
He also mentioned that the ministry has not received requests from other prefectures for troop assistance over the bear issue. In Akita prefecture, home to about 880,000 residents, bears have attacked more than 50 people since May, resulting in at least four fatalities, according to the local government. Experts indicate that most attacks have occurred in residential areas.
An elderly woman who went mushroom-hunting in the forest was found dead following an apparent attack over the weekend in Yuzawa city. Another older woman in Akita city was killed after encountering a bear while working on a farm in late October. A newspaper deliveryman was attacked and injured in Akita City on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a resident of Akita city was taken aback when she spotted two bears in her garden, frolicking on a persimmon tree. She managed to film the bears from the safety of her home as they roamed around for about half an hour.
Speaking to a local TV network, she revealed that at one point, it seemed like the bears wanted to enter the room she was in, prompting her to move away from the window. Abandoned neighbourhoods and farmland with persimmon or chestnut trees are often hotspots for bear visits. Once these creatures find food, they tend to return, experts warn.
The growing issue is partly attributed to Japan’s ageing and declining population in rural areas, according to experts. They argue that the bears are not endangered and need culling to keep their numbers in check. Local hunters, who are also ageing, are not accustomed to bear hunting. Experts suggest that police and other authorities should be trained as “government hunters” to assist in culling the animals.
Last week, the government established a task force to devise an official response to the bear situation by mid-November. Officials are contemplating bear population surveys, the use of communication devices for bear warnings, and revisions to hunting regulations. The ministry has stated that the lack of preventive measures in the northern regions has led to a surge in the bear population.
