Japan is grappling with a surge in bear attacks, prompting the government to consider making it easier to shoot bears in residential areas. However, hunters argue that such measures could be too risky.

In the year leading up to April, Japan experienced a record 219 bear attacks, with six fatalities, according to official data. The attacks have continued in recent months, as bears increasingly venture into populated areas, with some even reportedly viewing humans as potential prey.

The rise in bear encounters is partly attributed to the country’s aging and shrinking human population, particularly in rural areas. As people move away or grow older, bear populations have rebounded, leading to more frequent and sometimes dangerous interactions with humans. While most incidents result in injuries rather than fatalities, the threat remains significant.

Currently, Japanese law requires licensed hunters to obtain approval from a police officer before firing their guns. The government plans to revise this law in the next parliamentary session, aiming to give hunters more freedom to shoot bears if there is a risk of human injury, such as when a bear enters a building.

But hunters are wary. “It is scary and quite dangerous to encounter a bear. It is never guaranteed that we can kill a bear by shooting,” said Satoshi Saito, executive director of the Hokkaido Hunters’ Association.

“If we miss the vital point to stop the bear from moving… it will run away and may attack other people,” he added. “If it then attacks a person, who will be responsible for that?”

Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost major island, has become a focal point of this growing problem. The island’s bear population has more than doubled since 1990, now numbering around 12,000 brown bears. Brown bears are generally more aggressive than the estimated 10,000 black bears found elsewhere in Japan.

Local governments have experimented with various strategies to deter bears. In some areas, robot wolves with glowing red eyes and eerie howls have been deployed. Other regions are testing artificial intelligence warning systems.

The town of Naie in Hokkaido, for example, has been trying to hire hunters at a rate of 10,300 yen ($64; £50) per day to patrol streets, set traps, and kill bears if necessary. However, the response has been tepid. The job is dangerous, the pay is low, and many hunters are elderly, making the task even less appealing.

“It is not worth the trouble because confronting a bear will put our lives on the line,” a 72-year-old hunter from the area told The Asahi Shimbun newspaper, likening an encounter with a brown bear to “fighting a US military commando”.

In May, two police officers in Akita prefecture were seriously injured by a bear while attempting to retrieve a body from the woods after what was believed to be a fatal bear attack.

“The bears know humans are present and attack people for their food, or recognise people themselves as food,” local government official Mami Kondo said.

“There is a high risk that the same bear will cause a series of incidents.”

As bear populations grow, more bears are moving from mountainous regions into flatlands closer to human settlements. Over time, they have become less fearful of humans, leading to more frequent and potentially violent encounters.

“Bears that enter urban areas tend to panic, increasing the risk of injury or death to people,” said Junpei Tanaka from the Picchio Wildlife Research Center in Japan.

Bear sightings and attacks typically peak in April, when bears emerge from hibernation in search of food, and again in September and October as they prepare for winter. However, their movements have become less predictable due to climate change, which has led to lower acorn yields, a primary food source for bears.

“This amendment to the law is unavoidable, but it is only a stopgap measure in an emergency,” Mr Tanaka said.

Experts argue that simply capturing and killing bears is not a sustainable solution. Instead, they call for greater efforts to protect bear habitats, reducing the likelihood of bears venturing into human-populated areas.

“In the long-term, it is necessary to implement national policy to change the forest environment, to create forests with high biodiversity.”

They also emphasise the need for clear guidelines on who should be responsible for dealing with bears that enter residential zones—local officials or hunters—since hunting in residential areas poses unique challenges compared to wilderness settings.

“Ideally, there should be fully trained shooters like government hunters who respond to emergencies, but at present there are no such jobs in Japan.”

“If we don’t shoot, people will criticise us and say ‘Why didn’t you shoot when you have a shotgun?’ And if we shoot, I am sure people will be angry and say it might hit someone.

“I think it is unreasonable to ask hunters who are probably just ordinary salarymen to make such a decision.”

 

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