Japan's governor asks for military help to defend against bears attacking people

A spokesman for a Japanese region on Tuesday asked the government to send troops to help deal with what he called a "truly horrific" wave of devastating bear attacks.

One official confirmed to the AFP news agency that bears have killed as many as ten people in Japan this year. The figure surpassed the previous record, when six people were killed by bear attacks in the financial year ending March 2024.

Factors such as declining human populations and climate change have led to the animals increasingly coming to cities.Kenta Suzuki, the governor of the northern prefecture of Akita, told Japan's defence minister that "the lives of our citizens can only be safeguarded with the help of the Self-Defence Forces".

„Attacks targeting the victim's neck and face are very common, so the situation is really terrible,“ he said. Mr Suzuki said bears were now appearing not only in the mountains but also in cities.

It is not normal for the daily lives of all residents to be disrupted in this way, he added.In response to his request, the newly appointed defence minister, Shinjiro Koizumi, said that the government will „use all opportunities and powers“ to restore security.

An environment ministry official tracking the bear attacks confirmed to the AFP news agency on Tuesday that the number of people killed had definitely reached 10.

According to the official, the latest victim was attacked last week along with three other people in a village in the Akita mountains. However, this figure does not yet include the latest victims, who appear to have been killed in other attacks.

On Monday, a woman was found dead near rice paddies in Akita and a man and his dog were found dead in the neighbouring Iwate region, local media reported. Signs of assault were found on both their bodies.

The bears attack tourists, enter shops, and appear at schools and parks, especially in the northern regions.

There are two types of bears in Japan: Asian black bears, also known as moon bears, and brown bears, which are larger than the Asiatic black bears and live on the main northern island of Hokkaido.

Thousands of bears are shot every year, although as Japan's population ages, the number of hunters themselves is declining.

Last week, Japan's new environment minister, Hirotaka Ishihara, called bear attacks a "big and serious problem".

„We are determined to further strengthen various measures and, among other things, train government hunters and control the bear population“, – he said at a press conference.