Japan is facing an unprecedented wave of bear attacks: since the beginning of 2025 there have been ten victims and over sixty injured. The incidents, concentrated in the north of the country, are prompting the authorities of Akita prefecture to ask for army intervention. But behind the news lies a deeper problem, linked to the delicate balance between man and nature.
Sightings are multiplying in inhabited areas: rice fields, gardens and car parks become the new hunting grounds for hungry animals. In Akita prefecture alone there were 8,000 reports, six times more than last year. According to the authorities, around 70% of attacks today take place near homes or villages, a sign of an increasingly difficult coexistence between humans and wildlife.
The real causes: climate, hunger and depopulation
Experts urge caution: it is not the bears that have become more aggressive, it is the environment that has transformed. Climate change is reducing the availability of acorns, chestnuts and beech trees, essential food for survival in autumn.
Milder winters also delay hibernation, forcing animals to move around longer in search of food. Added to this is rural depopulation: many agricultural areas have been abandoned, leaving uncultivated fields and wild orchards that attract bears near homes.
Government measures and the debate on coexistence
The Japanese government has introduced emergency culls in urban areas, but a shortage of experienced hunters makes it difficult to implement the plans safely. However, limiting ourselves to repression is not enough and is not the right method at all: instead of shooting, we should understand why bears arrive in inhabited centers and how to prevent it. The solutions proposed are different: training of specialized personnel, prevention campaigns and environmental education in local communities.
Two species, a fragile balance
Japan is home to two species of bears: the Asiatic black bear, widespread across much of the archipelago, and the Hokkaido brown bear, more imposing and confined to the north. Their population is increasing, also thanks to laws on wildlife protection. However, the expansion of bears into now anthropized territories is creating ecological tensions. To resolve this situation, the real objective is not to eliminate bears, but to restore the balance that for centuries has allowed their presence alongside human communities.
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