Japanese authorities are setting aside funds for hiring hunters amid a rise in wild bear attacks.
The environment ministry said it was launching a programme to hire licensed hunters and other personnel to help tackle the problem.
Bears have attacked a record number of people so far this year, killing at least 13 and injuring more than 100.
In recent months, reports of bears breaking down school doors, attacking tourists at a bus stop, and venturing into supermarkets have made international headlines.
On Thursday, various ministries and agencies organised the first high-level meeting to address the problem.
“We will use the additional budget to hire more government hunters and other people who can aid in the response,” environment minister Hirotaka Ishihara said.
The additional funds, initially part of the ¥3.7bn ($24m) budget request for fiscal 2026 that covered projects for managing designated wildlife, would instead be incorporated into this fiscal’s supplementary budget, officials said.
Authorities are also considering legal changes to allow police to shoot bears with rifles.
The environment ministry is looking to include this and other initiatives in a package of measures being prepared with the agriculture ministry and other agencies to curb bear attacks.
“We’ve asked the police to respond with as much urgency as possible to allow the use of rifles to remove these bears,” chief cabinet secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters after the meeting.
Wildlife experts attribute the rise in bear attacks to environmental and demographic changes. Climate change has caused a shortage of natural food sources like beechnuts in some regions while depopulation has left rural areas emptier of people, prompting bears to wander into former human habitats.
Populations of the Asiatic black bear and the brown bear seem to be on the rise in Japan, leading to more frequent sightings in residential areas and even near Tokyo.
Experts note that bear attacks usually increase in October and November, ahead of the hibernation season.
The problem is particularly acute in Akita prefecture, home to nearly 880,000 people and a large bear population. Bear attacks here have killed at least two people and left more than 50 injured.
An amendment to the Wildlife Protection, Control and Hunting Management Act that came into force last month allows emergency hunting when bears are spotted around populated areas.
Discharging firearms in residential zones was largely prohibited earlier. Now, though, local municipalities may permit it under specific conditions.
As a result, several emergency culls have already taken place near cities in the country’s northeast.
The government announced this week that Japan’s Self-Defence Forces would support the Akita prefectural authorities in efforts to capture and repel bears.
“The lives and livelihoods of people are under threat,” defence minister Shinjiro Koizumi said on Tuesday, according to Kyodo.
