Japan’s defense ministry has deployed troops in northern Akita prefecture, according to preliminary reports. Not because of security threats, but to help deal with an increase in bear attacks that have killed 13 across the country since April.
Bear sightings have increased in Japan. Many videos circulating on social media also showed the bear charging towards a moving car, with the driver accelerating in panic as the four-legged animal continued to chase him down the road. Netizens claim that the incident happened in Hokkaido, Japan.
In addition to the 13 deaths, 100 other people were injured after encounters with brown bears and Asian black bears in Akita, according to several reports.
According to AFP, the number of bear attack victims is double the previous record set in 2023-24, with five months of the fiscal year still remaining.
“…he lives in a safari park”
Bear sightings have reportedly become an almost daily occurrence in mountainous areas, with the creatures spotted near schools, train stations, supermarkets and resorts.
Hajime Nakae, a professor of emergency and critical care medicine at Akita University Hospital, said the frequent sightings of bears made him feel like he was “living inside… a bear safari park.”
How does Japan deal with bear attacks?
On Wednesday, November 5, Japanese soldiers began an operation to set traps, assist local hunters with transport and help dispose of dead bears.
Employees sort bells next to an advertisement for bear spray at a store in Hanamaki, Iwate Prefecture on October 24, 2025. A record 13 people have been killed by bears across the country since April, with almost daily reports of the animals entering homes, roaming near schools and rampaging through supermarkets. The government is struggling to deal with an onslaught of maulings, which scientists say is fueled by a rapidly growing bear population combined with this year’s poor acorn harvest, leaving some mountains “overrun” with hungry bears. (Photo by Caroline GARDIN / AFP) / To go with the AFP story Japan-bear-environment-climate-demography, REPORT by Hiroshi Hiyama and Caroline Gardin
They were instructed not to shoot the animals, the Independent reports.
Why the increase in bear attacks?
Experts say growing bear populations and a changing climate are driving the increase in bear sightings and attacks. Thanks to warmer weather and abundant food sources – such as acorns, deer and wild boar – the bears are thriving and multiplying rapidly, AFP reported.
In just three decades, Japan’s brown bear population has nearly doubled to around 12,000, while Asian black bears on the main island of Honshu have climbed to around 42,000, according to a recent government report.
Some mountain areas are now “overpopulated,” said Naoki Ohnishi, a researcher at the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute.
“Simply put, the size of the bear population has exceeded the capacity of the mountains to sustain them,” AFP quoted the researcher as saying.
What the eyewitnesses say
It becomes something that feels personal and it’s just plain scary.
“Almost every day we hear reports of people being attacked or injured,” said Kakeru Matsuhashi – a traditional ‘Matagi’ hunter – who is 28 years old.
“It becomes something that’s personal and it’s just scary,” he told AFP.
