US EditionJapan to Deploy Military as Bear Attacks Claim 12 Lives
Akita has seen over 50 bear attacks and at least four deaths this year, prompting urgent military support to manage rising incidents linked to climate change and fewer hunters.
- On November 5, 2025, Japan's Defense Ministry sent troops to Akita, with Sato saying, 'Every day, bears intrude into residential areas,' and officials adding soldiers won't use firearms.
- Experts say Japan's aging rural population has reduced hunting capacity, while bears forage more widely as hibernation season nears and preventive measures lag in depopulated northern regions.
- Environment Ministry data show more than 100 injured and at least a dozen killed since April, while Japan's bear population is estimated at more than 54,000 and Akita Prefecture reports over 50 attacks with four deaths since May.
- The Defense Ministry and Akita prefecture signed an agreement Wednesday to deploy soldiers who will set box traps, transport local hunters and help dispose of dead bears, and the government set up a task force last week to finalize a response by mid-November.
- Experts recommend training police and other authorities as 'government hunters' to cull animals and say bears near schools, train stations, supermarkets, and a hot springs resort raise public-safety risks.
282 Articles
282 Articles
Hawaii Tribune-Herald
RNZJapan deploys troops to combat deadly wave of bear attacks
KAZUNO, Japan — Japan deployed troops to the country’s rugged north on Wednesday to help trap bears after local authorities said besieged communities were struggling to cope with an unprecedented wave of attacks.
Desperate authorities ask the Japanese military for help after the local hunters are completely overwhelmed with the dramatic situation.
From 13 November the new measure enters into force. Up to now only in the case of hijackings and attacks was the use of firearms allowed.
Last Sunday, Kiyo Goto, a 79-year-old woman from Akita Prefecture in northern Japan, telephoned her family to tell them she was going out for a walk in the mountains. She was going to pick mushrooms. On Monday at first hour, she was found dead in a wooded area of the mountain range. The severity of the facial injuries suggests that she was attacked by a bear, as local media picked up, adding one more victim of a wave of events that keeps the cou…
Japan deploys troops after record bear attacks
Japan's military deployed troops to the country's mountainous north on Wednesday to help trap bears after an urgent request from local authorities struggling to cope with a wave of attacks. The operation began in the town of Kazuno, where residents for weeks have been told to avoid the thick forests that surround it, stay home after dark and carry bells to deter bears that might forage near their homes for food. There have been more than 100 bea…
One News Page
Japan Sends Troops To Combat Spike In Fatal Bear Attacks
Japan Sends Troops To Combat Spike In Fatal Bear Attacks Authored by Guy Birchall via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours), Japan deployed troops to the north of the country on Nov. 5 to help control bears in the area, after local authorities said they were struggling to cope with an unprecedented…
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