Governor Kenta Suzuki of Japan’s Akita prefecture asked for military assistance to protect residents during a record wave of fatal bear attacks. According to DW, bear attacks have killed 10 people across Japan in 2025, breaking 2024’s record of six fatalities.
The governor specifically asked Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi for assistance, noting that the lives of citizens are no longer able to be protected without assistance from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces. He specifically noted that bears are now appearing in urban neighborhoods, with attacks to the neck and face becoming more and more common.
The Defense Minister said the government would “use all available capabilities and authorities” to restore public safety. The latest victim of a bear attack was killed las week in an Akita mountain village. According to wildlife officials, the number of incidents have sharply increased as bears wader further into populated areas to find food.
A few factors have been attributed to the increase in encounters. For one, food shortages caused by climate change have led bears further into populated areas. Additionally Japan’s aging and shrinking rural population has left fewer hunters to control the bear numbers, though thousands of both Asiatic black bears and Ussuri brown bears are still culled across the country every year.
Several reports have seen bears breaking into homes and stores, attacking tourists, and wandering near schools and parks. Japan’s central government has promised to implement tougher measures in order to manage bear populations, while regional authorities are encouraging residents to stay alert and stepping up patrols.
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