Overview
- The national package raises hunter pay, creates municipal "government hunters," authorizes police rifle use, and spreads emergency urban shooting know‑how.
- Hokkaido’s Higuma measures council urged long‑term efforts and system building to secure and develop personnel for hazardous culling work.
- Hokkaido Hunters’ Association chair Atsushi Horie cautioned that rifle use requires experience and opposed immediately arming police without phased training.
- The Hokkaido Police are weighing deployment by the riot unit, reflecting new leeway for police to conduct rifle culls under the package.
- The Environment Ministry will standardize population surveys across about 20 regions to set capture targets, as municipalities grapple with staffing gaps and consider options from regional hires to private operators, with the SDF confined to logistical support under current law.