Japanese Bear Expert Sounds Alarm Over Increase in Attacks, Calls for Population Control

Number of Bear Sightings and Cullings in Japan

Number of People Injured/Killed by Bears

A mother bear and her cubs eating chestnuts near houses at a town at the foot of the Ōu Mountains in Iwate Prefecture in October 2023. (© Satō Yoshihiro)

Bear Distribution and Population Change

A bear and her cubs crossing a street at the foot of the Kitakami Mountains in Iwate Prefecture in July 2018. (© Satō Yoshihiro)

Hokkaidō: Brown bear