appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

isVideo

articlePageQuery

article

articleSchemaContent

content

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

hooksArticlePageFloatingButtonConfigArticle

appConfig

filter

json

liveArticle

SCMP’s Asia desk

In Japan, complaints about bears have strained the resources of 40 per cent of local governments amid a surge in encounters with the animals this year.
According to a government survey of 40 prefectural and municipal councils, 17 said bear-related complaints had disrupted their operations.
Of those, 10 reported complaints that took up a lot of time, such as phone calls lasting more than an hour, while five said they had received an overwhelming number of grievances via their websites and by email, Kyodo reported on Wednesday.
Frontline staff had to deal with aggressive residents, with one individual calling numerous times demanding they “put the governor on the phone”.
They also had to fend off conflicting requests – such as “don’t you ever kill bears!” and “why didn’t you kill it?” following the release of a captured animal.

One local government worker handling bear-related issues was targeted by an animal-rights activist, who took photos of the employee without permission and posted the images online.
“Measures are needed to reduce the burden on frontline staff,” a ministry official said.
There have been more than 50,000 bear encounters in the 2025 financial year – a record high and double the number from the previous financial year, according to government data.
In the northern regions of Hokkaido and Tohoku, which have seen the highest number of reports, climber traffic fell more than 30 per cent between April and June compared with the same period last year, according to an analysis of smartphone location data on major mountains on Monday.
A series of fatal attacks last year and this year might have heightened anxiety among hikers, Kiyoshi Yamauchi, an associate professor of wildlife management at Iwate University, told Kyodo.

People did not have to be unduly worried as “many bear attacks occur when people are gathering wild vegetables or in areas near homes”, he said. “Bears in the mountains tend to be wary and often flee when they sense people nearby.”
Hikers could still enjoy the trails by taking the proper precautions, said the professor, who specialises in bear ecology. “I hope people will take sensible precautions and enjoy hiking without being overly fearful, such as carrying bear bells or whistles and staying on designated trails.”
A zoo in eastern Japan is also trying to help people understand bears and learn to coexist with them, according to The Mainichi.
Utsunomiya Zoo in the capital city of Tochigi prefecture is holding a “Let’s start by learning about bears” exhibition, which runs until the end of the month.

Exhibits include panels showing life-size comparisons of brown bears, which live in Hokkaido, and Asian black bears, which live on the main island of Honshu, as well as explanations of why the naturally timid animals are now appearing in urban areas.
“I hope the exhibition will deepen understanding of bears and give each person an opportunity to think about coexistence with animals,” zoo director Kenji Arai told the newspaper. “More than anything, it is important not to approach them recklessly and to keep an appropriate distance.”


China’s collection of stock stamp duty jumps more than 80% as AI frenzy boosts trading

Japan asks for US$43 million to weed out cherry tree-devouring longhorn beetle

Mariko Mori’s ‘All That Shines’ at Mori Art Museum: inside her landmark Tokyo exhibition

Style Edit: 45R marks 20 years in Ginza with new 4-storey flagship store

Japan

Japanese authorities feel strain of bear-related complaints as fear grips locals

A bear seen on a riverbank in the city centre of Morioka in Iwate prefecture, northeastern Japan, last October. Photo: Kyodo 

A bear warning sign seen last November at Senshu Park, where bear sightings had led to restricted access in Akita, northeastern Japan. Photo: EPA

A local hunter touches a bear dummy during an emergency response drill for bear and other wildlife intrusions in Isehara, Kanagawa prefecture in July. Photo: AFP

An advertisement for bear spray seen at a store in Hanamaki, Iwate prefecture. Photo: AFP

A bear captured in a box trap in Shimane prefecture, western Japan. Photo: Kyodo

CCTV camera footage of a bear walking inside a supermarket in Numata, Gunma prefecture. Photo: AFP/Gunma prefectural police/Jiji Press 

3 lions perish at Tokyo zoo as Japan bakes in ‘cruelly hot’ summer

Three lions have died of suspected heatstroke at Tokyo’s Tama Zoological Park in Japan. Photo: Tokyo Zoological Park Society/Kyodo

A man collects water in front of the damaged Yatsushiro Shrine following a powerful earthquake in Yatsushiro, Japan’s Kumamoto prefecture, on Friday. Photo: EPA

South Korean actress Ha Young sorry for controversy over ancestor’s pro-Japanese ties

South Korean actors Jung Hae-in (left) and Ha Young in a still from Netflix’s “Our Sticky Love”. Photo: Netflix

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has been reluctant to commit to expanded ties with Japan. Photo: EPA / Yonhap

Why Japan’s scenic Tohoku region is still a tourist outlier

Iwate Park in Morioka, Japan, in autumn. Photo: Shutterstock

Tourists explore snow domes known as “kamakura” in front of Yokote Castle during the Yokote Snow Festival, in Japan’s Akita prefecture, in February. Photo: Getty Images

A traditional Nebuta float on display for the Nebuta summer festival in Aomori city, Japan’s Aomori prefecture, in August 2015. Photo: AFP

Ginzan Onsen in Japan’s Yamagata prefecture during winter. Photo: Shutterstock

Japan’s overworked defence ministry plans first new bureau since 2007

Members of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces and US Marines during a joint live-fire drill as part of the annual Resolute Dragon exercises in Yufu, Oita prefecture, Japan, on June 28. Photo: Reuters

Japanese Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi says his ministry’s workload has “hit its limit”. Photo: Kyodo

Japanese Ambassador to Cambodia Atsushi Ueno (centre left) and Cambodian Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Tea Seiha (centre right) attend a signing ceremony in Phnom Penh on Sunday. Photo: Kyodo

This Week in Asia

Health & Environment

News

Asia

East Asia

Local governments have to handle a surge in time-consuming complaints as close encounters with bears rise to a record high


Local governments have to handle a surge in time-consuming complaints as close encounters with bears rise to a record high.


Animals

Environment

Japanese authorities feel strain of bear-related complaints as fear grips locals

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Local governments have to handle a surge in time-consuming complaints as close encounters with bears rise to a record high

Local governments have to handle a surge in time-consuming complaints as close encounters with bears rise to a record high