Japan Faces Bear Crisis: Experts Warn of 'Man-Eating Bears' Reappearing

This autumn, Japan is experiencing a severe bear crisis—particularly since October, there has been a sharp increase in incidents of bears attacking humans. Numerous tragedies have occurred in various locations where residents have been attacked or even killed by bears, and some local governments have been forced to request support from the Self-Defense Forces.

Experts point out that bear behavior this year has “completely entered a new phase,” and even cases of “bears breaking into homes to eat people, the first such incidents in 130 years,” have emerged. The former governor of Akita Prefecture bluntly stated that fighting this bear crisis is now a “war” that must be addressed comprehensively.

Kazuhiko Yoneda, head of the Japan Asiatic Black Bear Research Institute who has studied Japanese black bears for over 50 years, stated that bears are showing significantly increased aggression this year, with behavior patterns “never seen before.”

He explained that in previous years, the bears seen in early October were mostly mother bears and cubs driven out of their territories, or young bears not yet capable of causing fatal injuries. Fatalities were mainly caused by adult bears descending from the mountains to forage from late October to November.

But this year, the situation is completely different—serious incidents involving casualties have been occurring since early October and continue to persist, which is clearly an “abnormal situation.”

Yoneda pointed out that in July, an incident in Kitakami city, Iwate Prefecture, where a bear broke into a residence and killed an elderly woman in her eighties, “was very likely aimed at eating a human from the start,” a case unseen in Japan for 130 years.

He worries that such situations are spreading. On October 3, in Kurihara city, Miyagi Prefecture, four mushroom foragers were attacked by a bear, resulting in one death and one person missing. The missing person's body has yet to be found, raising expert concerns that “man-eating bears” may be reemerging.

Yoneda explained, “If a bear licks or chews human remains after killing, it will remember the taste of human flesh and be more likely to attack people in the future.” If this continues long enough, more bears could learn “man-eating” behavior.

He also pointed out that many recent cases have involved “dismembered bodies,” “remains being dragged away or covered with bamboo leaves,” and other signs of “food guarding,” indicating that these bears already see humans as prey.

The Bear Crisis is a War—Civilian Life Destroyed

Former Akita Governor Norihisa Satake bluntly said: “This is already a war!” He sharply criticized that the bear crisis is an all-encompassing blow to rural areas, including elderly people being unable to harvest mountain vegetables, festivals being canceled, and the local economy collapsing.

“Urban dwellers may not understand, but forest life is part of rural people's existence. Many elderly people rely on foraging mountain vegetables for their livelihood, earning 2 to 3 million yen a year. Now, with frequent bear sightings, even the yield of maitake mushrooms has dropped sharply.”

He stressed that the bear crisis has left children unable to play outside, the elderly afraid to take walks, local specialties and vitality declining, forming a vicious cycle. “Even daily life cannot be sustained—this is a wartime condition!”

Satake also criticized urban residents' “hypocritical sentimentality about animal protection,” pointing out that the bear crisis is not the result of humans encroaching on bear areas, but the other way around—bears are invading human settlements.

“As the population declines, forests return to their wild state, causing bear numbers to skyrocket and bring them closer to human activity zones.”

Satake revealed that the actual number of bears seen is much higher than official statistics: “Some villages have only a thousand people but over two thousand bears living there. The government's sighting map is just the tip of the iceberg—the actual number is three to five times what is reported.”

He wryly remarked, “In some places, bears appear every day, and villagers just can't call the police every single time.”

He recalled that in 2023, after a black bear broke into a shop and attacked people in Akita and was subsequently killed by hunters, the prefectural government received numerous complaint calls. At the time, he ordered public officials to hang up immediately, and even hit back at the callers: “Give me your home address, and I’ll send the bear to your house!”