A Bear Crisis Has Seized Japan

A bear crisis has sparked national alarm in Japan-- at least 13 people have been killed and more than 200 wounded injured in bear encounters the past year alone. Videos of bears rummaging through supermarket aisles, roaming school grounds and plucking persimmons from suburban backyards have gone viral on Japanese social media. Some schools have also closed temporarily, while residents in parts of northern Japan avoid going out after dark. Japan’s defense minister has deployed the Self-Defense Forces to hard-hit regions, and lawmakers are scrambling to find long-term solutions. The US and UK embassies have also issued advisories to travelers in rural areas. 

For many, the crisis feels both frightening – and predictable.  “There are just too many bears now, it’s an emergency situation,” bear hunter Haruo Ikegami says.  Japan’s bear population has skyrocketed, while the number of licensed hunters has plummeted. With more than a third of Japan’s population now over 65, rural towns are shrinking. Few young residents remain, and even fewer are willing to take up hunting, Ikegami said, a dangerous job with low pay and little appeal compared to urban life in places like Tokyo. “If the government had taken this seriously earlier, it wouldn’t have gotten this bad,” Atsushi Kanno, a 37-year-old bear hunter, told CNN. “It’s nonsense that they’re responding now, only after things have escalated.” 

There are several factors driving the surge in encounters. One is simply numbers-- the population of the Hokkaido brown bear, one of two bear species in Japan, has more than doubled in the last 30 years, with nearly 12,000 of the animals now roaming the country’s northernmost prefecture.  Experts say climate change is another factor. Poor harvests of nuts and fruit are pushing bears to seek food elsewhere. 

“When it’s scarce, bears must find food. I believe bears are taking a step closer to human settlements,” Hiroo Tamatani, a bear conservationist said. Japan’s demographic shifts also compound the problem. Rural towns and farmland once formed a natural buffer between deep forest and populated centers. But as those areas empty out, bears are moving in, taking advantage of the new real estate.

Public opinion largely supports culling. Many in Japan now fear hiking or traveling to prefectures with recent attacks, and a growing number prefer visiting “no-bear prefectures,” areas with no known bear populations.  Japanese officials continue searching for solutions that protect human life while allowing wildlife to survive.  “Humans and animals have lived side by side for a long time. Sometimes we harmed each other, but we still must respect and acknowledge one another,” Tougen Yoshihara, a Buddhist monk who was attacked by a bear, told CNN.