Overview
- An initial team of 15 soldiers was dispatched to Kazuno, Akita, to deliver a cage trap and provide logistical support.
- Troops will help set up, check, and transport traps, move captured bears, and ferry hunters to sites without conducting hunts themselves.
- The Defense Ministry says soldiers carry spray, sticks, shields, and net launchers but no firearms.
- Since April, bear encounters have left about 12 people dead and more than 100 injured, with most fatalities reported in Akita and Iwate.
- Akita has logged over 8,000 sightings this year, and residents have been urged to avoid dense forests at night and carry bells to deter bears.