Overview
- The Defense Ministry is sending Self-Defense Forces to Akita to set box traps and transport carcasses under civil-assistance provisions, with liaison officers already in place and no authorization to kill bears.
- The government has elevated its response to a ministerial level, with Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara pledging faster, more coordinated action across agencies.
- The Environment Ministry is shifting funds into a supplementary budget to recruit licensed hunters and bolster on-the-ground capacity.
- Authorities are preparing measures that would allow police to use rifles under emergency hunting rules, with urgent training and equipment procurement planned.
- Since April, 12 people have been killed and more than 100 injured nationwide, while Akita reports three deaths and 53 injuries, a surge experts link to food shortages for bears, growing bear populations, and rural depopulation.