Overview
- Akita Prefecture and the GSDF 9th Division signed an agreement on Nov. 5, launching operations in Kazuno with plans to extend support to Odate and Kita-Akita through the end of November.
- Soldiers are restricted to logistical roles such as setting and transporting box traps, moving hunters and handling carcass disposal, and will not use firearms.
- Preliminary Environment Ministry data show a record 20,792 bear sightings nationwide from April to September and 6,063 bears captured or killed in that period.
- Since April, more than 100 people have been attacked and at least a dozen killed across Japan, with Akita among the worst-hit areas reporting around 60 injuries and four deaths.
- Officials cite growing bear populations, climate-driven food shifts and rural depopulation as key drivers, while the government’s taskforce prepares countermeasures following a September easing of urban bear-hunting gun rules.