Japan has deployed troops to the northern prefecture of Akita to help contain a surge in the number of bear attacks that have terrorized people in the mountainous region.
Unexpected encounters with bears are reported almost daily in the lead up to the hibernation period as the animals forage for food. Bears roaming near schools, train stations, supermarkets and even a hot springs resort.
Some of the encounters resulted in injuries and even many deaths. The growing population of the population in areas that occur in a region with a rapid aging and decline of the human population.
Since April, more than 100 people have been injured and at least 12 killed in bear attacks across Japan, according to the environment ministry.
The defense ministry and Akita Prefecture signed an agreement on Wednesday to deploy soldiers to address the problem. Soldiers will set box-traps with food, bring in local hunters and help dispose of dead animals. Officials said the soldiers will not use weapons to stop the bears.
Fumaitoshi Sato, the deputy chief secretary of the Cabinet, said: “Every day, there are bears in the residences of the region and the answers to the bear problem are an urgent matter.”
The operation began in a forested mountain area in Kazuno City in northern Akita, where sightings and injuries were reported. A team of white-helmeted soldiers wearing bulletproof vests and carrying bear spray and net launchers set up a trap near an orchard.
Takahiro Ikeda, an ordumala operator in the neighborhood, said that bears have eaten more than 200 of his apples that are ready to be harvested. “My heart is broken,” he told NHK television.
Kenta Suzuki, the governor of Akita, said local authorities are taking “desperate measures” due to a lack of resources amid daily reports of birth sightings and attacks.
Shinjiro Koizumi, defense minister, said that the purpose of the Bear Mission is to help ensure people’s daily lives, but that mission of members and unlimited support cannot be provided. The Japanese defense forces are already on the defensive.
To date, the ministry has not received requests from other prefectures for troop assistance on the bear issue, he said.
In Akita Prefecture, which has a population of about 880,000, bears have attacked more than 50 people since May, killing at least four, according to the local government. Experts say most bear attacks occur in residential areas.
An elderly woman who went mushroom hunting in the forest was found dead in an apparent attack over the weekend in the town of Yuzawa. Another elderly woman in Akita City who encountered a bear while working in a farm was killed in late October. A man speaking to the newspaper was attacked and injured by a bear in Akita City on Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a woman in Akita City found two bears in a Persimmon tree in her garden. From inside the house, he parked the bears while they ate the fruits and walked around the garden for about 30 minutes. The woman, in her 70s, told a local TV network that she was scared because the bears appeared at one point wanting to enter the room she was in, and she moved from the window.
Experts say Japan’s aging population and declining population in mountainous areas are among the reasons for the growing bear problem. They say the bears are not endangered and should be culled to control the population.