HAKUI, ISHIKAWA PREF. ¨C Crested ibises, considered a natural monument of Japan, were released into the wild on Sunday in Hakui, Ishikawa Prefecture, marking a first on the island of Honshu for the birds.
The Ishikawa Prefectural Government hopes that this will be a symbol of reconstruction from the powerful?January 2024 earthquake that hit the prefecture¡¯s Noto Peninsula.
A ceremony for the release of the birds was held the same day, with participants including Crown Prince Akishino and Crown Princess Kiko.
Eight crested ibises soared skyward after the couple and local elementary school children opened boxes containing the birds.
There are 10 other crested ibises being kept in temporary cages in the city. They will be able to leave on their own in about two weeks after getting used to the surrounding environment.
During the ceremony, Crown Prince Akishino said he wants the released birds to ¡°bring hopes as a symbol of postdisaster reconstruction.¡±
Ishikawa Gov. Yoshiyuki Yamano said, ¡°I¡¯m happy that our dream of seeing crested ibises fly in the sky over Noto has come true for the first time in about half a century.¡±
The number of crested ibises in Japan decreased due to overhunting in the Meiji Era and the destruction of their natural habitat.
In 1970, the last crested ibises in Honshu were transferred from the Ishikawa town of Anamizu to Sado Island in Niigata Prefecture. However, the birds?became extinct in Japan in?2003, as artificial breeding on the island ended in failure.
But the country succeeded in breeding crested ibises donated from China in 1999. Currently, about 500 crested ibises are believed to live on Sado Island.
In February 2025, the Environment Ministry selected the Noto area, which was the last habitat of wild Japanese crested ibises on Honshu, as the venue of the release.
¡°I feel refreshed,¡± said Yoshio Muramoto, a 101-year-old Hakui resident who has been engaged in activities to protect crested ibises for more than 70 years. ¡°I hope they will settle down in Noto,¡± he said.
The next release of crested ibises is slated to take place in the Ishikawa town of Nakanoto around September.
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