Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara convened a special ministerial meeting where the government approved a new policy package aimed at curbing the growing number of bear attacks. The plan includes recruiting people with firearms experience—such as ex-police officers and retired Self-Defense Force members—to support efforts to track and cull dangerous bears.
Japan has recorded 13 fatal bear attacks since April, the highest number ever seen in a single year. Reports of bears entering homes, wandering near schools, and even charging into supermarkets have become increasingly common.
Kihara said the new measures aim to “reduce the excessive bear population by removing them from human-inhabited areas and ramping up capture operations.”
— AFP
