Overview
- Self-Defense Force units are setting baited box traps, transporting licensed hunters and removing carcasses, but they are not permitted to use firearms.
- Field operations started in Kazuno and are scheduled to expand to Odate and Kitaakita under an agreement that runs through the end of November.
- Since April, more than 100 people have been injured and at least 12 killed across Japan, while Akita has reported over 8,000 sightings and more than 50 attacks.
- Officials and experts point to a poor acorn harvest, growing bear populations and rural depopulation with fewer active hunters as major drivers.
- Leaders including Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi emphasize the SDF’s role is logistical and temporary as authorities enhance warning systems and trapping responses.