The historic city of Kyoto has taken the urgent step of installing multilingual warning signs across its streets, directly addressing residents and international visitors about a sharp rise in dangerous bear encounters.
Multilingual Warnings for a Growing Threat
Bright yellow signs, written in English, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese, have been erected at key locations. They provide crucial advice on what to do if confronted by an Asiatic black bear, such as crouching down and protecting the head and neck. Each sign also features a QR code linking to a Kyoto prefectural website that tracks local bear sightings in real-time.
The first sign was installed on Saturday 30 November outside the Sakyo Ward Office’s Yase branch, following the discovery of bear droppings nearby earlier in the month. City officials revealed they received 112 reports of bear sightings and related information between April and 25 November this year. This marks a significant jump from the 86 reports logged during the same period in 2024.
Japan's Unprecedented Bear Crisis
Kyoto's actions are a local response to a national emergency. Japan is currently enduring its most intense period of bear activity ever recorded, with attacks and sightings soaring across the country, including in regions popular with overseas tourists.
Since April, a record 13 people have been killed in bear attacks. Incidents of bears entering homes, roaming near schools, and causing havoc in supermarkets are being reported almost daily. According to national broadcaster NHK, more than 220 people have been injured in bear attacks since April, the highest number on record.
In response, Japan's National Police Agency announced several emergency measures this week. It will distribute 44 rifles and suitable ammunition for bear culling to police forces in 13 prefectures, including Akita and Iwate, which are at the epicentre of the surge. The agency will also provide 790 sets of protective gear for officers. On 28 November, the cabinet approved a supplementary budget of 480 million yen (approximately £2.5m) to fund these actions.
Root Causes and Wider Impact
The alarming spike in human-bear conflicts is driven by a convergence of environmental and social factors:
- The bear population in Japan is estimated to have tripled since 2012, partly due to reduced hunting.
- Poor harvests of acorns and beech nuts, crucial food sources, are driving bears out of their forests and into urban areas as they search for sustenance before winter hibernation.
- Rural depopulation has led to vast areas of abandoned farmland and overgrown properties, providing both cover and forage for wandering bears.
The danger is no longer confined to remote mountain villages. Officials in regions like Akita, Iwate, and Gifu have reported a sixfold increase in sightings this year. Residents now commonly carry bear bells even in semi-urban areas. Recent sightings have occurred near major tourist sites like Kyoto's Arashiyama bamboo forest and in Shirakawa-go, where a Spanish tourist was injured last month.
The situation became so severe earlier in November that the military was deployed in parts of northern Japan to assist with setting traps for a cull, after local authorities stated they could no longer cope with the rising number of attacks.
