Japan Local Govts Working to Reduce Damage by Bears

Tokyo, Nov. 13 (Jiji Press)--Local governments in Japan are working to gather information about bear sightings and to use artificial intelligence to keep bears out of urban areas, following a spate of bear attacks in the country last year.

While bear sightings this autumn have been fewer than in the previous year, local governments are racing to prevent damage even if the animal appears more frequently.

In the northeastern prefecture of Akita, where the number of deaths and injuries caused by bear attacks came in at 70 in fiscal 2023, which ended in March, the most among the country's 47 prefectures, the prefectural government released a system for displaying reports of bear sightings and damage on an online map in July.

Information on sightings, including of wild boars and deer, are entered into the system by municipalities. Eyewitnesses themselves can also input reports, which are verified by staff for credibility.

The map had been viewed some 298,000 times as of the end of October, and about 2,900 people have registered for email alerts of information on sightings.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]