Japan culls over 14,000 bears amid record human attacks, plans further removals

From April 2025 through January 2026 Japan’s bear control program resulted in the killing of more than 14,000 animals, chiefly Asiatic black bears and a smaller number of brown bears. The unprecedented cull follows a year when attacks on humans rose sharply, leaving six people dead and over 35 injured in nine prefectures. Conservationists, including the Japan Bear and Forest Society, caution that such large-scale removals could push the already vulnerable Asiatic black bear toward regional extinction, as the country holds an estimated 42,000 of the species.

Officials attribute the rise in incidents to a steep decline in licensed hunters since the 1970s, prompting relaxed shooting rules and widespread trapping. Local groups like Picchio continue to use trained dogs and relocation efforts, but the government has set a target to kill another 8,800 bears this fiscal year. Experts note that while Japan’s bear numbers have rebounded dramatically, climate-related food shortages are driving bears into human-occupied areas, intensifying the conflict.