81 Cases of Emergency Bear Shooting Reported in 1st Year

Tokyo, Sept. 6 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s emergency bear shooting system was used in a total of 81 cases in 14 of the country’s 47 prefectures in the first year after its introduction in September 2025, according to the Environment Ministry. It was used mainly in the Tohoku northeastern and Hokuriku central regions. The emergency culling system allows shooting of bears or wild boars in residential or other inhabited areas based on decisions by municipal governments. Challenges still remain. It took time to secure safety in some cases while some local governments lack know-how. Sendai, the capital of Miyagi Prefecture, part of Tohoku, used the emergency culling system for a bear last October, becoming the first municipality to do so. Before the introduction of the system, bear or wild boar shooting at night or in densely populated residential areas had been prohibited in principle. “If conditions are met, we can now capture bears quickly” thanks to the system, an official of a local government said. Nearly 70 pct of the total emergency shooting cases took place in October-December, when bears were actively searching for food before hibernation. By prefecture, Yamagata had the largest number of cases, at 19, followed by Niigata, at 14, and Iwate and Toyama, at eight. Securing safety in areas where shooting takes place is the most important thing. Local governments and police need to evacuate nearby residents and prepare barriers for stray bullets. In the city of Koriyama, Fukushima Prefecture, south of Miyagi, a bear that appeared in a residential neighborhood moved in an area including an elementary school. Emergency shooting was carried out 43 hours after the first sighting of the bear because it took time to secure safety of residents. The shortage of hunters who can shoot at night, which requires high skills, is also an issue. In the city of Fukushima, a bear stayed in a factory for two days in June. A hunting gun was not used in consideration of a risk of the plant catching fire. A tranquilizer gun was used instead, but the bear was not captured. “It took time because this was the first case (for us to use the emergency shooting system),” a Koriyama city official said, also citing a lack of manpower. “Response capability differs from municipality to municipality,” an Environment Ministry official said, indicating that it is difficult for local governments to accumulate know-how unless they handle many cases. The level of preparedness also differs among municipalities. An official at the Yamagata prefectural government said, “While some municipalities in the prefecture are deepening practical discussions, including on cooperation with police, others are just starting necessary work.” Against the backdrop, the ministry plans to step up efforts to help municipalities share know-how, such as introducing successful cases at training sessions for local government employees. It is also supporting efforts to nurture personnel with necessary skills, such as so-called government hunters, or local government officials in charge of bear hunting and related tasks. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]