Japanese authorities have warned residents to prepare for bear encounters after a surge in attacks led the government to deploy the military — and to advise children to carry plastic bottles for protection.
The alert follows a sharp rise in bear incidents across northern Japan, where at least 12 people have been killed and more than 100 injured since April 2025, according to the Environment Ministry (via AP News).
Poor acorn and beech nut harvests that black bears eat are believed to be a primary cause of the animals’ push into towns, schools, and residential areas.
Bears are pushing further into populated areas
According to The Guardian, the government has urged children in Akita Prefecture to carry empty plastic bottles and scrunch them as a means of making noise to deter bears. Residents have also been advised to attach bells to their bags, keep trash sealed, and avoid wooded areas at dawn and dusk.
The Japanese Self-Defense Forces have been deployed to assist local hunters and police with trapping and monitoring bears. According to AP News, officials described the move as an emergency response to repeated fatal encounters in Hokkaido and the Tohoku region.
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