Overview
- Japan has recorded 10 deaths and more than 100 casualties from bear attacks in fiscal 2025, the highest annual toll since records began.
- Akita reports 54 people killed or injured this year and over 8,000 sightings, with October logging more than 4,100 after 857 in September.
- Governor Kenta Suzuki says he will ask the Defense Ministry for Self-Defense Forces support, but the ministry has not confirmed any request or scheduled visit.
- Experts cite poor nut harvests, delayed hibernation in warmer winters, rural depopulation and a shortage of licensed hunters as key drivers of rising encounters.
- Authorities are expanding precautions, including limited repellent distribution and rentals, and public guidance backed by an Akita University survey advising victims to lie face down and shield the head if attacked.