Japan deploys army to counter a surge in bear attacks
TOKYO
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.
Reports of sometimes deadly encounters with brown bears and Asiatic black bears are being reported almost daily ahead of hibernation season as the bears forage for food. They have been seen near schools, train stations, supermarkets and at a hot springs resort.
Since April, more than 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 growing bear population’s encroachment into residential areas is happening in a region with a rapidly aging 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.
The Defense Ministry and Akita prefecture signed an agreement on Nov. 5 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 began in a forested area in Kazuno city, where a number of bear sightings and injuries have been reported. White-helmeted soldiers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying bear spray and net launchers set up a bear trap near an orchard.
