Japanese military called in to deal with increasing bear attacks in rural prefectures

Military is only there to provide logistic support and not take part in any hunting.

With all the problems facing the world today, it’s easy to overlook the fact that parts of Japan are experiencing bear attacks at unprecedented levels. There have been nine deaths from bear attacks this year as of October, which already makes the total for 2025 an all-time high, and while attacks and sightings are difficult to quantify accurately, it is clear they are both on a sharp rise.

Bear encounters are also getting bolder as the year goes on. Just this week, a bear slammed into the side of a moving patrol car in Fukushima Prefecture, though it’s unclear if that was an attack or just an accidental collision. Also, a young bear walked right into the Town Hall of Nishimeya in Aomori Prefecture during working hours, but luckily ran away without anyone getting injured.

▼ Security footage of the bear in the town hall.

It’s becoming one of the top issues facing Japan, and whenever you read about a top issue facing Japan, know that politician Shinjiro Koizumi won’t be far behind. Having already largely cut the use of plastic bags at stores and tackled the skyrocketing price of rice, he now appears to be taking on the bear problem in his latest position as Minister of Defense.

On 4 November, Koizumi announced that the Ground Self-Defense Force (SDF) would be called in to help support population control of the bears. This is in response to a request for help from Governor Kenta Suzuki of Akita Prefecture in northern Japan. According to Suzuki, the prefecture’s resources are stretched too thin to be able to deal with the bears effectively.

▼ News report showing Koizumi’s announcement and some of the traps to be used. The SDF do have experience with animal capturing after helping to contain deer populations in Hokkaido.

However, the SDF will not use its weapons against the bears. Instead, they will assist local hunters with logistic support and by providing traps. According to the Ministry of Defense, SDF soldiers have no experience in bear hunting, but they are also legally restricted from directly engaging with the bears under the constitution of Japan.

Readers of the news online largely supported the move of bringing in the military to help the underfunded and undermanned parts of Japan, but some felt the SDF was being handicapped too much in handling the situation.

“At this point, it’s practically a natural disaster, so this makes sense.”
“If all they can do is provide logistical support, why not just use the police?”
“It seems like a waste for them to just help with logistics.”
“Hey, look. It’s Shinjiro again.”
“I hope this puts an end to the deaths.”
“It’s frustrating they can only be used for support. I think we should amend the laws.”
“Calling in the military just to do odd jobs?”
“I’m glad they’re being used to help rural areas, but why can’t they carry firearms? Diplomacy doesn’t work on bears. I hope they have a way to protect themselves.”

The SDF are prohibited from “use of force” by the constitution unless three conditions are met, the first being that a military force is attacking Japan or a close ally. Bears are not a military force, and thus the SDF can’t launch an assault on them. However, the soldiers would legally be able to carry firearms for the purpose of protecting themselves and the population, so that last commenter needn’t worry about that.

Luckily, there is a bit of a legal precedent for this kind of situation, albeit a fictional one, in the form of Godzilla. Shortly after the release of Shin Godzilla, the government ran a hypothetical thought exercise in how the military could legally be used against wildlife (in this case, a kaiju) if it posed a significant enough threat. They concluded that it could be done by classifying the weapons as “tools” used to prevent disasters.

This would also theoretically give the SDF the green light to go directly after the bears in the same way, but it would seem the Ministry of Defense feels the current situation doesn’t warrant the risk of doing such a thing.

▼ Most people would consider a tank a weapon, but it could be a tool when, say, using it to open a stubborn jar of pickles.

Constitutional law can be kind of confusing, so let me try to sum it up in layman’s terms: The Self-Defense Forces have the right to bear arms even if the bears aren’t armed aside from their bare bear arms, because the Self-Defense Forces could use armed force in self-defense. Also, unarmed bears could bear the brunt of armed force if the arms the armed forces bear bear the label of “tools”, much like our own bare, unarmed arms do, but bearing in mind the SDF would bear the blame if something went wrong.

So, in the end, this seems like a prudent first step in tackling this pressing issue. While minimizing injuries and deaths from bear attacks is the top priority, doing it in a way to preserve as much of the prefectures’ autonomy as possible while also minimizing bear deaths would be ideal.

Source: 47 News, Hachima Kiko, TUF, ATV
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
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