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In Japan, locals are looking for answers to the increasing bear attacks. This city has an innovative solution

Theo

On October 18, 2023, candy store owner Keiji Minatoya was starting his day in Kita-Akita, a regional city 700 km north of Tokyo, when a young woman ran out of his backyard screaming, “There’s a bear!”
“I have lived here for many decades, but I have never seen a bear in the city,” thought 66-year-old Minatoya, and went back inside to continue making his butter mochi (a sweet treat).
But when he finished work and opened the garage door, he found himself face to face with an Asiatic black bear.
When he looked into the eyes of the six-foot-tall animal, Minatoya’s survival instincts kicked in. He ran as fast as he could, but the bear caught up with him, pinned him to the ground, and then bit him on the face and body.
“I thought I was going to die,” Minatoya recalled. “The attack was brutal, so fast, so powerful – it was terrifying.”
Then the bear suddenly stopped its attack and Minatoya was able to get into his house and call for help.

On the same day, six people were attacked in Kita-Akita, a record that shocked the entire country. What was most shocking was that these attacks were not isolated incidents.

An older Asian man in a black jacket

Keiji Minatoya had to have stitches on his head after a bear attack in October 2023. Source: SBS / Date line

Japan is experiencing an unprecedented increase in bear attacks, the highest number in more than a century. Last year alone, 212 people were attacked by Japanese black or brown bears., Six people were killed. Akita Prefecture was hit particularly hard. Last year, 70 attacks were recorded here, more than in any other part of the country.

Given the alarming number of attacks, authorities are desperately looking for solutions to ensure the safety of the population.

Why the number of bear attacks is increasing

Professor Koji Yamazaki of the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology is one of Japan’s leading bear experts. His team was commissioned by the government to find out why there were so many attacks in 2023.
He says unseasonably high temperatures last fall led to a dramatic decline in the acorn and fruit crops that bears need to survive the winter.
“For bears, September is usually the most important time of the year. It is a very important time when they eat a lot of food to accumulate body fat before hibernation,” Yamazaki explained.
Desperate and starving, the bears came unusually close to towns and villages in search of food.
“When bears eat food scraps that are near human habitation, they come back.”

“Bears also want a simple life, just like people. Once they have learned a simple way, they never give it up.”

A black bear stands in the tall grass in the wild

A Japanese black bear is a subspecies of the Asian black bear Source: Getty / Petesphotography/iStockphoto

Another factor contributing to the increasing encounters between bears and humans is the population decline in Japan.

The Japanese term “satoyama” refers to areas between mountains and farmland that have traditionally been used for rice cultivation and forestry. But as more people have abandoned farming and moved away, it has become easier for bears to get closer to villages and towns.

“Especially in the mountainous regions, there is a progressive depopulation and an aging population. This gives the bears more space for their activities,” said Yamazaki.

How is the Japanese government reacting to the bear attacks?

As the boundaries between humans and bears become blurred, the Japanese government has responded by introducing a nationwide bear protection program.
From public safety videos teaching people how to survive bear attacks to using AI technology to monitor bear movement patterns, Japan has committed to a range of measures to inform citizens and ensure their safety.
One of the more controversial measures, however, is the Japanese government’s new mass killing campaign.
In April this year, black bears were added to the list of animals to be controlled in Akita Prefecture. Hunters are now allowed to kill bears without restrictions and for a bounty. The government has also introduced subsidized ammunition and carcass disposal for bear hunters.

While the initiative has been met with great approval in cities such as Kita-Akita, where encounters with bears are particularly common, other communities are looking for solutions that enable people and nature to live together harmoniously.

An Asian man with a short, graying beard and reading glasses kneels on one knee next to a dog. He is wearing khaki pants, a jacket and a green baseball cap. It is snowing

Dog handler Junpei Tanaka and his Karelian Bear Dog Tama Source: SBS / Date line

In Karuizawa, a city 150 kilometers west of Tokyo, the Picchio Wildlife Research Center has introduced an innovative bear dog program that enables bears and humans to coexist in their respective territories.

The bear dog program, first developed at the Wind Bear Institute in the United States, aims to make bears fearful of humans by tracking the bears’ movements and using the dogs to bark at the bears when they approach human dwellings.
“Because humans and bears live so close to each other, we need to separate our respective territories in order to coexist,” said dog handler Junpei Tanaka.
Tanaka works with Tama, his Karelian Bear Dog, a breed originating from Finland known for its ability to hunt brown bears.

“With the help of the dogs, we teach the bears that humans are dangerous, so that the bears living here stay away from people.”

A Caucasian woman in a light green winter jacket, a gray scarf and black gloves poses for a photo on a bridge over a river

Amelia Hiorns, a researcher at the Picchio Wildlife Research Center, says the bear dog program has been successful in reducing the number of bear incidents. Source: SBS / Date line

Since the program was launched in 2004, there has been an extraordinary reduction in damage and incidents involving bears. According to Amelia Hiorns, a researcher from Picchio, there have been no bear attacks in the town for over a decade.

“Our management system includes a number of mitigation measures, including bear dogs, electric fences, bear-proof trash cans., and a community engagement program to help people understand how to interact and coexist with nature,” Hiorns said.
“We have to accept the bears as much as possible. And of course (bears) have to accept people to a certain extent.”

“Then I think coexistence is possible. There won’t necessarily ever be perfect harmony, more of a compromise. And that’s probably the best way we can achieve it,” she said.

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