13 Dead in Bear Attacks This Year as Incidents Surge
Bears Appear in City Centers, Including Banks and University Campuses
Japanese Government: "Full-Scale Response, Emergency Shootings Allowed"
As bears have descended into city banks and university campuses, resulting in a series of casualties, the Japanese government has decided to introduce a "civil servant hunter" system. The plan is for local governments to hire licensed professional hunters as full-time employees to enable immediate response.
According to a report by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on October 30, the Japanese government convened a meeting of relevant ministers on this day and decided to strengthen its response, following a surge in bear-related casualties.
The Ministry of the Environment announced that it will establish a new grant to allow local governments to directly hire personnel with hunting licenses and wildlife control skills as "civil servant hunters." The ministry also plans to institutionalize the hiring of professional personnel by local governments or provide firearms and capture training for existing civil servants. To support the required funding, the ministry explained that it has requested a budget of 3.7 billion yen (approximately 34.5 billion won) for the "management target wildlife (birds and animals) countermeasure project" in the fiscal year 2026 budget proposal.
Since the beginning of this year, the number of people who have died in bear attacks across Japan has reached 13 (including suspected cases). This is the highest number since statistics began in 2008, with most of the damage concentrated in the Tohoku region. In Morioka City, bears have appeared in the city center, including the headquarters of a bank and university campuses, causing chaos. There was also an incident in which a foreign tourist was attacked and injured at a tourist site in Shirakawa-go, Gifu Prefecture, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
On October 28, Minister of the Environment Hirotaka Ishihara stated, "Bear damage is a serious problem, and we feel a sense of urgency. The government must make an all-out effort to respond." The government has already revised the "Wildlife Protection and Management Law" in September, allowing bears that appear in human-inhabited areas to be shot in emergency situations. Previously, firing guns in residential areas was, in principle, prohibited, but there have already been emergency shootings in Sapporo, Sendai, and Yokote in Akita Prefecture.
The biggest problem is the shortage of hunters. According to statistics from the Ministry of the Environment, the number of people with hunting licenses in Japan has dropped from about 510,000 in 1975 to around 210,000 in 2020, less than half. Of these, 58% are aged 60 or older, and only 90,000 hold a "Type 1 license," which allows the use of live ammunition. Since most hunters are elderly volunteers who participate mainly through hunting clubs, there are concerns about the limitations of immediate response. The government expects that if local governments directly hire hunters and convert these positions into stable jobs, it will likely lead to the recruitment of younger personnel.
The Nihon Keizai Shimbun pointed out, "Due to bears' thick subcutaneous fat and hard skulls, it is difficult to respond unless one is a professional hunter," adding, "Even the pistols used by police officers are not powerful enough to kill a bear. Only hunters with shooting training and proper equipment can handle wildlife control."
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