Japan sent troops Wednesday to help contain a wave of bear attacks that have terrorized residents in the northern prefecture of Akita.
According to The Associated Press, encounters with brown bears and Asiatic black bears have been reported almost daily as the animals forage for food before hibernation. Bears have been spotted near schools, train stations, supermarkets, and even 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 the Environment Ministry.
Officials say the growing bear population is increasingly moving into residential areas as Japan’s rural population declines. The government estimates there are more than 54,000 bears nationwide.
Under a new agreement between the Defense Ministry and Akita prefecture, soldiers will set box traps with food, transport local hunters, and help dispose of dead bears. Officials said troops will not use firearms.
“Every day, bears intrude into residential areas in the region and their impact is expanding,” Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Fumitoshi Sato said. “Responses to the bear problem are an urgent matter.”
The operation began in a forested area in Kazuno city, where multiple sightings and injuries have been reported. Troops in helmets and bulletproof vests carried bear spray and net launchers as they set traps near an orchard.
Takahiro Ikeda, an orchard operator, said bears ate more than 200 of his apples. “My heart is broken,” he told NHK television.
Akita Gov. Kenta Suzuki said local authorities were becoming “desperate” due to a lack of manpower.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said the mission is meant to help protect daily life but warned that service members’ primary role is national defense and that support will be limited.
In Akita, a prefecture of about 880,000 people, bears have attacked more than 50 residents since May, killing at least four. Most attacks occurred in residential areas, local officials said.
Recent victims include an older woman found dead after mushroom hunting in Yuzawa city and another woman killed on a farm in Akita city in late October. A newspaper delivery man was also injured in an attack Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a resident in Akita city filmed two bears climbing a persimmon tree in her garden. She said they stayed for about 30 minutes and appeared to try to enter her home.
Experts say abandoned farmland and aging rural communities have allowed bear populations to grow unchecked. They recommend training police and officials as “government hunters” to help cull the animals.
The government set up a task force last week to develop an official bear response by mid-November, which may include population surveys, bear warning systems, and revised hunting rules.
