Japan calls for weapons amid record number of fatal bear attacks. Due to a lack of experienced hunters, the central government decided to encourage retired police officers and former military professionals to obtain hunting permits, the Asahi Shimbun newspaper reported. Strict gun laws have also been relaxed previously. Police officers are now allowed to shoot bears with rifles. According to the Ministry of the Environment, 13 people have been killed by bears across the country since April – a record high. Dozens of other people were injured.
Over the years there has been an increase in the number of dangerous encounters between bears and humans. The reasons given are increasing abandonment of agricultural land and depopulation of rural areas due to aging and general population decline. According to experts, another reason why hungry bears are now increasingly roaming residential areas is because they cannot find enough food in mountain forests. There may be a shortage of beech nuts due to climate change.
Increasing incidents, especially in the north
Most bear attacks were reported in the northern prefectures of Iwate and Akita. The situation is now so serious that the governor of Akita, Kenta Suzuki, recently visited the Ministry of Defense in Tokyo and called for the deployment of troops. The military is now helping local authorities set live traps and transport and dispose of dead bears. However, the soldiers themselves did not shoot the bear.
“People’s lives and livelihoods are at risk,” said Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. The government now wants to provide funding for hunters. Japanese hunters are getting older. Their numbers are also decreasing.
On Japan’s main island, Honshu, many Asiatic black bears, called collared bears, live in forested mountains. Authorities believe there are several thousand predators in Akita Prefecture alone. There are also thousands of brown bears on the northernmost main island, Hokkaido.
