HOKKAIDO, Sep 21 (News On Japan) –
Fatal bear encounters are rising sharply throughout Japan, with accidents and deaths reported at a tempo matching the worst 12 months on file. Experts warn that each stricter inhabitants management and preventive measures to maintain bears away from human settlements are urgently wanted.
Autumn is essentially the most harmful season, as bears grow to be extremely lively searching for meals earlier than winter hibernation. Japan is house to 2 species: the brown bear, or higuma, present in Hokkaido, and the Asiatic black bear, or tsukinowaguma, dwelling in Honshu and Shikoku. A big brown bear can stand almost three meters tall and is powerful sufficient to interrupt a horse’s neck with a single blow. They can even dash 100 meters in as little as six seconds, whereas black bears cowl the identical distance in eight. The fatality charge for victims attacked by brown bears is 24 p.c, in contrast with 2.3 p.c for black bears.
Between April and August 2025, 69 individuals had been injured or killed by bears, the identical tempo as two years in the past, when an acorn scarcity triggered the worst 12 months on file. The Environment Ministry has confirmed new areas of bear habitation in surveys since 2018, with populations increasing throughout Japan besides in Shikoku. Hokkaido’s brown bear inhabitants has greater than doubled over the previous 30 years, whereas black bears have expanded their vary by 1.4 instances. Today, Chiba Prefecture is the one a part of Honshu with out wild bears, whereas the species is extinct in Kyushu.
The surge in bear numbers is linked to shifts in human society. During the early twentieth century, widespread trying to find pelts and gallbladders—utilized in conventional medication—threatened extinction in some areas. But after a brand new safety framework was launched in 1999, mixed with inhabitants decline and deserted farmland offering extra meals, bear populations rebounded quickly. As their habitats prolonged nearer to cities and villages, many bears misplaced their pure worry of people and started showing in residential areas as so-called “urban bears.”
Experts stress that each inhabitants administration and deterrence measures are required. Mayumi Yokoyama, a professor on the University of Hyogo, factors to the necessity to seize not solely bears that enter cities but additionally these dwelling close to houses, to be able to scale back general numbers. At the identical time, meals sources have to be managed: persimmons, rubbish, and different attractants needs to be managed, whereas electrical fences needs to be put in round farmland.
In 2024, the federal government eliminated bears from its record of protected species and reclassified them as managed wildlife, alongside deer and wild boar. This shift permits extra aggressive inhabitants management by means of concentrated looking. Since September, municipalities have additionally been approved to allow using looking rifles in city areas.
While bears have lengthy been acquainted figures in Japanese folklore, from legends of Kintaro wrestling a bear to tales of coexistence with nature, the rising frequency of encounters highlights the necessity for contemporary options. As specialists warn, solely by combining cautious inhabitants administration with preventive measures can individuals and bears proceed to coexist in in the present day’s Japan.
Source: TBS