Japanese defense forces are mobilizing to combat a growing population of aggressive bears in the country’s north after the body of a woman in her 80s was found in a ditch outside the city of Akita on Monday.
She is one of 10 people killed by bears since April, surpassing last year’s national figure of six, adding to the 73 people injured or killed in Akita this month alone. The crisis has led Governor Kenta Suzuki to ask the national government for help.
After a series of deaths, the Japanese military mobilized to help hunters control the bear population.Credit: VCG via Getty Images
“The lives of our citizens cannot be protected without the help of the Self-Defense Forces,” he told Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi. “Attacks directed at the neck and face are extremely common, resulting in a truly dire situation.”
Bears have been attacking tourists, breaking into stores and appearing near schools and parks across the country, particularly in the north.
Members of the Japan Self-Defense Forces will be sent to assist local hunters. The military will provide logistical support, including setting up trap boxes, transporting equipment and hunters around the prefecture, and disposing of culled bears. The Defense Ministry said the troops will not be armed and will not be involved in tracking or hunting bears.
There are fewer hunters in the prefecture’s rural areas than before and they are overwhelmed by requests to track and kill bears, the governor said.
A brown bear runs through a field in Sapporo, northern Japan, in 2021. It was euthanized after entering a military camp and injuring four people.Credit: NTV/AP
Police said the woman who was killed this week had suffered serious injuries and that hunters were tracking a bear that had been seen nearby.
The death follows another bear attack in the area last week against a couple who were picking fruit in the village of Higashinaruse. Two men working nearby came to help, but were severely maimed and one later died.
