In Akita Prefecture, Japan, bears have been showing up in villages and attacking people in succession. As the situation has escalated beyond its own response, the local government is considering asking the Ministry of Defense to dispatch the Self-Defense Forces.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on the 26th, Akita Governor Suzuki Kenta said on Instagram that he will visit the Ministry of Defense this week to ask it to consider dispatching the Self-Defense Forces. Suzuki said, "Human casualties caused by bears continue, and the situation has become very serious," and added, "The current situation has gone beyond what local governments alone can handle."
However, Suzuki noted, "There is no law that explicitly envisions a Self-Defense Forces deployment to repel bears, and this is not as simple as a typical disaster dispatch."
According to Akita Prefectural Police, as of the 26th this year there have been 54 bear-related casualties in total, far exceeding the 11 victims for the whole of last year. At a facility for people with disabilities in Kita-Akita, a 73-year-old female resident died after a bear attack, and in Higashinaruse Village, a 38-year-old man also died from a bear attack. On the 26th, in a private home in Kazuno in northern Akita, an 85-year-old woman was mauled by a bear and suffered a head wound.
According to the prefecture, from January to Oct. 26 of this year there were 8,044 reports of bear sightings, about six times the total for last year. There were 857 reports in September, but the number surged to 4,154 in October.
The recent increase in bear appearances in Akita Prefecture is attributed to factors such as climate change extending bears' active period and reducing available food, a decline in hunters, and a rise in abandoned farms. October in particular is when bears need to feed heavily before hibernation.