Japanese city reeling from 12 months of document bear encounters

[ad_1] It got here as no shock, least of all to the residents of Osaki, that “bear” was chosen as Japan’s kanji character of the year earlier this month.

The north-eastern city of 128,000 folks is greatest recognized for its Naruko Onsen scorching springs, autumn foliage and kokeshi – cylindrical dolls carved from a single piece of wooden. However this 12 months it has made the headlines as a bear hotspot, because the nation reels from a 12 months of document ursine encounters and deaths, with warnings that winter is not going to convey quick respite.

“This 12 months has been significantly unhealthy,” says Kazuhide Otomo, an official within the city’s rural setting growth division. “There have all the time been bears on this area, so folks obtained used to them. However this 12 months is completely different … it’s the largest matter of dialog.”

In Naruko Onsen, teams of hikers outfitted with suzu bells and repellent spray head into the forest to catch the final of the autumn colors, whereas posters on the native tourism workplace warn guests in a number of languages the way to defend themselves.

<gu-island name="YoutubeBlockComponent" priority="critical" deferuntil="visible" props="{"id":"5b8c10eb-4b5e-4782-9b64-dafeac334180","assetId":"ofEjeHJnrCY","index":4,"format":{"design":10,"display":0,"theme":0},"isMainMedia":false,"expired":false,"posterImage":"https://media.guim.co.uk/2f29d6a2567cd97aab9056a1e3eb8b446b9484a7/0_0_1920_1080/1920.jpg","duration":87,"mediaTitle":"Bells and whistles: how our reporter prepared for visiting bear hotspot – video","origin":"https://www.theguardian.com","stickyVideos":false,"enableAds":true,"iconSizeOnDesktop":"large","iconSizeOnMobile":"large","hidePillOnMobile":false}"> Bells and whistles: how our reporter ready for visiting bear hotspot – video Vacationer numbers are decrease than in a typical 12 months, whereas native ryokan inns say visitors are cancelling their reservations.

Satoru Onoma, who runs a espresso store, admits he's experiencing bear fatigue after months of intense media protection. “It’s laborious to disregard the bear drawback as a result of it’s been all around the information,” he stated, including that he had not encountered the animals throughout his uncommon journeys exterior. “However I’ve heard loads of tales about folks recognizing bears within the mountains.”

Osaki authorities have reported 400 sightings up to now this 12 months, in contrast with fewer than 100 in 2024. In a single incident, a girl in her 70s suffered critical accidents to her face when she was attacked exterior her residence after selecting greens. In one other, residents noticed a bear seize and run off with their canine.

Comparable encounters have been reported in areas throughout Japan , with the northernmost prefectures on the centre of an unprecedented wave of assaults.

<gu-island name="InteractiveBlockComponent" priority="critical" deferuntil="idle" props="{"url":"https://interactive.guim.co.uk/uploader/embed/2025/12/japanbears-zip/giv-32554QAP3iluQuh72/","scriptUrl":"https://interactive.guim.co.uk/embed/iframe-wrapper/0.1/boot.js","alt":"Map showing the location of Osaki, a Japanese town which is best known for its Naruko Onsen hot springs and autumn foliage.","format":{"design":10,"display":0,"theme":0},"elementId":"168ff92b-808f-4501-bc98-58bb61dbd27d","caption":"Osaki is best known for its Naruko Onsen hot springs and autumn foliage.","isMainMedia":false}"><figure id="168ff92b-808f-4501-bc98-58bb61dbd27d" class="element element-interactive element--inline element-inline dcr-w422y2" data-alt="Map showing the location of Osaki, a Japanese town which is best known for its Naruko Onsen hot springs and autumn foliage." data-testid="interactive-element-Map%20showing%20the%20location%20of%20Osaki,%20a%20Japanese%20town%20which%20is%20best%20known%20for%20its%20Naruko%20Onsen%20hot%20springs%20and%20autumn%20foliage." data-spacefinder-role="inline"> Map showing the location of Osaki, a Japanese town which is best known for its Naruko Onsen hot springs and autumn foliage. Osaki is greatest recognized for its Naruko Onsen scorching springs and autumn foliage. A document 13 folks died in suspected bear maulings nationwide between April and November, in response to the setting ministry, whereas the variety of assaults stood at 197 – one other excessive.

Specialists say hungry bears are venturing into residential and built-up areas searching for meals after poor crops of acorns and beechnuts of their pure habitat.

Japan’s bear inhabitants is rising, with one estimate placing the variety of Asian black bears at 44,000 – in contrast with 15,000 estimated in 2012, though the species is recognized as “weak” on the Worldwide Union for the Conservation of Nature’s “purple listing” of threatened species. That determine doesn't embrace Hokkaido, considered residence to about 12,000 Ussuri brown bears, whose inhabitants has greater than doubled since 1990.

Sightings have been reported on the western tip of the principle island of Honshu, fuelling concern that the animals might seem on Kyushu – the place they had been beforehand considered extinct – which lies 650 metres away throughout the Kanmon Straits.

The colder climate would as soon as have eased fears, because the animals, fattened up on beechnuts and acorns, disappeared to hibernate till the spring. However their more and more desperate search for food is forcing them to delay hibernation.

The issue is compounded by a scarcity of licensed hunters – lots of whom are ageing and have little or no expertise of killing bears – and the disappearance of pure satoyama borders that separate forests from villages in ageing farming communities.

A poster exterior the vacationer workplace in Naruko Onsen advises hikers on the way to keep away from encounters with bears, and what to do if they arrive throughout one of many animals. {Photograph}: Justin McCurry/The Guardian Because of this, northern prefectures are experiencing a surge in bear sightings even in December and January.

Earlier this month an 80-year-old man – a member of a neighborhood looking membership – was discovered useless close to a trapped bear on a mountain, in response to police. One other man in his 70s was attacked as he cleared snow from in entrance of his residence.

Toshio Mizoguchi, an professional on bear countermeasures, informed broadcaster NHK that between 2019 and 2023 the variety of reported sightings within the area in December stood at between 30 to 50. That soared to 284 the next 12 months, and has stayed constant at 271 sightings up to now this 12 months – a phenomenon Mizoguchi attributed to prolonged searches for persimmons because the animals load up on vitamins earlier than hibernating.

“Now black bears have begun invading even Japan’s city areas,” Maki Yamamoto, an affiliate professor at Nagaoka College of Expertise who specialises in wildlife administration, wrote on the Nippon.com web site this month. “We should start to strategy wildlife administration as a nationwide coverage problem fairly than an remoted drawback confined to distant mountain communities.”

Authorities in Osaki declared a state of emergency they initially anticipated to carry on the finish of November. The measures, although, will keep in place till the tip of the 12 months, as sightings proceed. Residents are suggested to not exit early within the morning or late at night time – when they're extra more likely to encounter bears – and to strip their timber of persimmons and different fruit which are changing into a part of the animals’ altering food plan.

“Bears are intelligent animals,” Otomo stated. “In the event that they discover one thing good to eat, like a candy persimmon, in a selected place they keep in mind and preserve going again for extra. Previously, bears would usually run away after they noticed people, however they're changing into accustomed to folks and not see them as harmful.”

Public nervousness prompted the governor of Akita prefecture – the place most sightings have been reported – to call in the self-defence forces to entice and get rid of bears, though they don't seem to be permitted to shoot them.

The prefecture’s governor, Kenta Suzuki, stated he had taken the unprecedented step after 4 folks had been killed and 62 others injured in assaults. “One of many traits of this 12 months is that these incidents are happening in city areas,” he stated, including that the prefecture had culled greater than 2,000 bears this 12 months.

Conventional kokeshi dolls exterior the railway station at Naruko Onsen in northern Japan. The dolls, carved from a single piece of wooden, are in style souvenirs for guests to Japanese onsen resorts. {Photograph}: Justin McCurry/The Guardian “We’re listening to about folks opening their entrance doorways to discover a bear on their doorstep, or roaming of their backyard,” he stated. “The truth that that is occurring close to folks’s houses is inflicting excessive ranges of concern.

“We’ve been criticised for our resolution to cull a lot of bears, however we’re not doing this as a result of we wish to … it’s due to the injury they're inflicting in city areas and to agriculture. It’s unavoidable.”

In Osaki, residents hope 2026 might convey aid, since poor beechnut harvests seem to happen in two-year cycles – a phenomenon some scientists have attributed to the climate crisis and intense summer season warmth. If the sample persists, there must be loads of meals, and much fewer hungry bears roaming cities and villages subsequent 12 months.

Nevertheless it additionally implies that the next 12 months might see a return to extra frequent sightings, accidents and deaths.

“It’s about hanging a steadiness between defending residents and preserving bears’ pure habitats,” Otomo stated. “Now we have to verify there's a clear division between the bear and human populations. However so long as bears proceed to lose their concern of individuals, the issue received’t go away.”