A Japanese governor says he will ask for the military to help cull bears to protect locals amid a wave of attacks.<\/p>\n
Government statistics state that at least nine people have been killed by bears in Japan since April this year, an annual record.<\/p>\n
Dozens of other injuries have been reported across the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In the past week, Japanese media has reported a number of bear attacks, including people exercising in urban areas of Akita Prefecture, a northern mountainous area.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Another bear attacked four people before being found in a nearby house. None of the victims were seriously injured.<\/p>\n
There has been some 8,000 bear sightings in Akita this year, a roughly six-fold increase on last year.<\/p>\n
Akita Governor Kenta Suzuki took to social media on Sunday to discuss his plan, which he said would include requesting a military cull as early as Tuesday, local time.<\/p>\n
“Exhaustion on the ground is reaching its limit,” Mr Suzuki said in his Instagram post.<\/p>\n
Akita officials have begun “distributing bear-repellent spray along school routes to ensure children’s safety,” he added.<\/p>\n
A defence ministry spokesperson said she was unaware of any planned visit.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Signs warning people to be wary of bears are common in Japan. (ABC News: Yumi Asada)<\/p>\n
Rising bear numbers and depopulation in rural areas are increasingly bringing people into contact with bears.<\/p>\n
Many encounters have occurred in towns and villages where the animals forage for food, sometimes entering homes, and on at least two occasions, supermarkets.<\/p>\n
Japan’s aging population also means it has too few qualified hunters to track down bears, which appear less fearful of humans than in the past.<\/p>\n
This week, Japan’s new environment minister Hirotaka Ishihara vowed to get tough on bears, calling the attacks “a serious problem”.<\/p>\n
“We are committed to further strengthening various measures including securing and training government hunters and managing the bear population,” he said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Sometimes traps are used to stop bears from getting too close to humans on the Japanese island of Hokkaido. (Supplied: Farming Support Hokkaido)<\/p>\n
Local media has also reported advice on how people can protect themselves if they encounter a bear.<\/p>\n
NHK Japan suggested people check maps that track bear sightings, carry bear spray and bells to distract the animals and clear their homes of any food that might attract them.<\/p>\n
Some estimates put Japan’s black bear population at some 44,000, three-times the number it was in 2012.<\/p>\n
The animals, which can be found across much of the country, can weigh up to 140kg.<\/p>\n
There are an estimated 12,000 brown bears on Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido.<\/p>\n
Brown bears can weigh as much as 400kg.<\/p>\n
The spate of attacks has prompted Japanese filmmakers to postpone the release of a horror movie with the same theme.<\/p>\n
The film Brown Bear features an animal “attacking and eating” humans and was set to hit cinemas in November.<\/p>\n
However producers have delayed its release, saying they “take seriously the fact that there have been a series of real-life attacks” in Japan.<\/p>\n
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