Akita Gov. Kenta Suzuki said Thursday that recent bear control efforts by the Self-Defense Forces have had a positive effect, but he hopes that a similar deployment request would not have to be made in the future.
This year, Akita Prefecture experienced 66 bear attacks and four deaths 〞 the highest in the country 〞 prompting Suzuki, in a rare move, to request the SDF＊s help in October to contain the issue.
※We have heard locals express great gratitude for the efforts made by the SDF personnel during this period,§ Suzuki said at a news conference Thursday. ※(However,) ideally, we would have the local capacity to deal with this situation 〞 so I hope that we will not have to make this kind of request again.§
Some 900 Ground Self-Defense Force personnel were deployed to Akita in November. Although the troops were not directly involved in culling the bears, they helped transport around 140 traps and were active in 12 out of the 25 municipalities in the prefecture.
Suzuki said seeking national-level support was the only option he had, given the manpower shortage in the aging prefecture.
※I think it ended up being almost a cry for help,§ he said, adding that he felt the emergency request played a part in the speedy launch of the emergency bear attack prevention package, which included changes in regulations that allowed the police to cull bears with rifles.
※This is an issue that local governments simply cannot handle on their own,§ Suzuki said. ※I do hope that going forward, the national government will take a leading role and take on agency in terms of dealing with this issue as we go forward as well.§
Although bears are expected to hibernate from winter to spring, Suzuki said that long-term prevention measures still needed to be worked on, with a possible increase in bear incidents forecast for 2027 due to a poor beechnut harvest projection.
Removing uneaten persimmon fruits from trees or clearing abandoned agricultural goods in rural areas, as well as bolstering manpower for bear deterrence must be done, he said.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.