Overview
- The Supreme Court’s Third Petty Bench scheduled oral argument for February 27, 2026, signaling possible review of a Sapporo High Court ruling that upheld canceling the hunter’s firearm license for a “dangerous firing toward a house.”
- Plaintiff Haruo Ikegami, head of the Sunagawa hunting association, announced a crowdfunding campaign to cover travel and other appeal expenses.
- Hokkaido police report 5,249 brown-bear sightings this year as of December 22 and two fatal incidents, the highest sightings tally in the past five years.
- The national government in November authorized police to use rifles for bear culling and requested assistance from retired Self-Defense Force and police personnel to bolster response capacity.
- Sunagawa’s hunting association has refused municipal shooting operations since 2019, and all 15 bears removed this year in the city were captured using box traps, underscoring ongoing limits in rapid urban-response options.