EXCLUSIVE: Japan Eyes Tax Relief for Bear Hunters

Tokyo, Aug. 27 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s Environment Ministry has started discussions on exempting hunters from hunting tax as a special measure amid increasing bear attack cases across the country, Jiji Press has learned. The tax relief, aimed at easing the financial burden on and securing hunters, is seen applying to cases using the emergency culling system, which allows shooting of bears in residential or other inhabited areas based on decisions by municipal governments. The ministry plans to request necessary funding under the government’s fiscal 2027 budget, sources familiar with the matter said. Currently, hunters pay between 5,500 yen and 16,500 yen of hunting tax to prefectural governments, depending on the license category, when registering for capturing animals. It is necessary to pay the tax for each hunting season and to each prefecture, resulting in a heavier burden for hunters who are active in wide areas. To address the situation, the ministry plans to exempt hunters from the tax in emergency shooting cases and in culling aimed at preventing an increase in or reducing the number of animals, according to the sources. Details will be decided on the basis of the existing special incentive system, which exempts hunters appointed by local governments to do the task of tackling damage caused by wild animals from paying the tax and grants a 50 pct reduction in the tax to hunters who cull animals for specific purposes by obtaining permissions from relevant local authorities. According to the ministry, the number of bear sightings in fiscal 2025, which ended in March this year, reached a record high of more than 50,000, and 13 people were killed in bear attacks. As there is an urgent need to capture bears and control their population amid the rapid aging of hunters and a serious shortage of successors, the ministry plans to strengthen support for people engaging in publicly funded hunting operations in an effort to reduce bear-related damage and casualties. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]