Overview
- Japan’s Defense Ministry confirmed it will send SDF personnel to Akita to set box traps and dispose of carcasses, not to hunt bears.
- An initial team of army officers will be dispatched to craft an operational plan before wider trap operations begin.
- Nationwide this year, more than 100 people have been injured and 11 have died in bear incidents, a record death toll.
- Akita has recorded over 50 injuries and two deaths, prompting Governor Kenta Suzuki to seek military assistance as local hunting groups are overstretched.
- Experts cite scarce natural foods such as beechnuts and rural depopulation for pushing bears into populated areas, with activity spiking in October and November.