Japan killed more than 14,000 bears between April 2025 and January 2026, marking a stark response to record-breaking human attacks. Despite the significant reduction in the bear population, the threat remains high. Six people have died from bear encounters this year alone. Government officials currently plan to remove another 8,800 bears to mitigate future risks to the public.
The Crisis in Japan’s Forests
Karuizawa in the Nagano prefecture is a popular destination during hot summers. People flock there for the bamboo-lined paths and cool canopy cover. Yet this habitat is also home to bears looking for food like mulberries, ants, and cherry blossoms. Recent years have turned this peaceful area into a site of frequent human-bear conflict. The situation is not unique to Karuizawa. Northern prefectures such as Akita and Iwate recorded the highest number of attacks. Extreme heat damaged the growth of beech nuts and acorns, forcing bears to scavenge in populated regions for calories.
Small conservation groups like Picchio attempt to manage these encounters by using dogs trained to scare bears away. When that fails, the team tranquilizes and relocates the animals deep into the forest. These efforts face limitations as the scale of the problem grows. Bear-human conflict is a national issue. Last year, 230 people suffered attacks, and 13 individuals lost their lives, the highest death toll on record for the country.
Shifting Management Strategies
Japan’s government attributes the spike in attacks to a declining number of skilled hunters. Licensed hunting groups have shrunk by half since 1975. With fewer people to manage the population, officials felt forced to act. They relaxed rules for shooting bears in populated areas last year. Traps were placed across the country. Data from April 2025 to January 2026 shows 14,000 bears were killed, including 12,000 Asiatic black bears and 2,000 brown bears.
Conservationists argue this heavy-handed approach fails to address the root cause. Yuko Muroya, chair of the Japan Bear and Forest Society, warns that regional extinctions are a real possibility. Asiatic black bears are already considered vulnerable by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, with fewer than 60,000 individuals worldwide. Japan holds roughly 42,000, making the country a vital sanctuary. Still, the government plans to cull an additional 8,800 bears this fiscal year despite the fact that six people have been killed since April.
Looking Toward Long-Term Solutions
Experts suggest that the current culling policy is reactive rather than preventative. Biologist Dave Garshelis notes that Japan had historically managed bear populations well through conservative policies. He believes the government felt compelled to remove bears because there were no immediate alternatives. Shinsuike Koike, an ecologist at the Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, questions the accuracy of government data and global population estimates. He notes that without better data, it is difficult to determine if these massive culls will stabilize the population or push it into a terminal decline.
Climate change continues to alter the forests that bears rely on for survival. Mongolian oak trees are dying back and insect populations that provide food are in decline. Conservationists propose planting nut-bearing trees to keep bears in the woods away from human settlements. The environment ministry released a new protection plan in November 2025 that involves installing fences and removing fruit trees near homes. Whether these measures will replace the current reliance on hunting remains to be seen. The core conflict between a growing bear population and a shrinking natural habitat is likely to persist as temperatures continue to climb.