Japan bear attacks kill 6 as Nagano tests coexistence

Japan bear attacks have killed six people since April 1, according to the environment ministry, while researchers in Nagano point to a long-running coexistence programme as an alternative to wider culling.

In Nagano's forests, scientist Akiko Takii traps Asiatic black bears, takes samples and, when possible, tags them before release. The management plan began in 1995 after authorities concluded the bear population was shrinking in the mountainous region of central Honshu.

The programme has been paired with monitoring, relocation, more than 3,000 kilometres of fencing near farms, towns and rivers, and the use of trained Karelian Bear Dogs to scare bears away. Takii said avoiding excessive killing helps form a healthier bear population.

Japan's central government has focused more on culling. Even before guidance was expanded in April to include bears entering buffer zones, a record 14,000 bears were killed last fiscal year. Bears killed a record 13 people nationwide in the last fiscal year, and sightings last year doubled the previous record.

Direct comparisons are difficult, and bears are hard to count, but Nagano recorded 11 bear-related incidents last year, including one death. Akita recorded 59 encounters and four deaths, while Iwate had five fatalities.

Nagano has also moved closer to the national approach. Its annual cull cap has been doubled to 675, and 227 bears were killed between April and June this year. Takii's group, the Shinshu Asian Black Bear Research Association, now conducts catch-and-release work only for scientific study, and its bear dog programme has been halted.