BEAR NECESSITIES

Soldiers Deployed to Fight Surge in Deadly Bear Attacks

The country is set for a record-breaking year of maulings.

Japan is deploying its military amid a flurry of deadly bear attacks in its mountainous regions. The country has seen a record number of attacks, with 100 people injured and 12 killed since April, according to an Environment Ministry report. The attacks have now reached their highest rate in a fiscal year since 2006, with incidents reported almost every day. In a bid to quell the attacks, Japan’s Defense Ministry on Wednesday deployed troops in the Akita prefecture, in the north of Japan’s main island, Honshu. An agreement was reached between officials from the prefecture and the Defense Ministry for troops to assist hunters. CBS reports they will be tasked with transporting hunters, removing slain bears, and laying baited box traps. They will not be using guns. Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Fumitoshi Sato said, “Every day, bears intrude into residential areas in the region and their impact is expanding. Responses to the bear problem are an urgent matter.” Japan’s aging population has left more space for the bears to expand into. As settlements have quietened, the bears have moved in. Reports of attacks have included some inside people’s garages and urban environments, not just out in forests.