Japan Deploys Bear Cameras in Mountains as Attacks Surge

In 2023, Japan recorded over 200 bear attacks—the highest number in decades. Six people died. That’s more than in the previous five years combined. Now, in a bid to understand what’s driving the surge, Japan’s environment ministry has begun installing hundreds of cameras across the northern mountains. An official told AFP on Thursday that the cameras will be part of the first nationwide bear population survey in 12 years.

It’s a striking shift for a country where bears were once largely left alone in remote forests. But as human-bear encounters pile up—often ending badly—officials are scrambling for data. And fast.

Record Surge in Bear Attacks

The numbers are grim. According to Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, there were 219 bear attacks in fiscal 2023, a jump of nearly 70% from the previous year. The hardest-hit region is Tohoku (northern Honshu) and Hokkaido, where Asian black bears and brown bears roam. In October 2023 alone, a series of attacks in Akita and Iwate prefectures left two elderly women dead and several others injured. Local authorities issued emergency warnings, urging residents to avoid forests and carry bear bells.

“We are seeing an unprecedented number of incidents,” says Dr. Yumi Tanaka, a wildlife biologist at Hokkaido University who specializes in bear ecology. “Bears are entering villages, even towns, in daylight. It’s not just about food scarcity anymore—something deeper is happening.”

The surge isn’t limited to Japan. Similar trends have been reported in parts of Europe and North America, where recovering bear populations meet expanding human settlements. But Japan’s geography—steep mountains, dense forests, and aging rural communities—makes the conflict uniquely dangerous.

Camera Network: A High-Tech Solution

To get a handle on the problem, the environment ministry launched a pilot project in 2024. Over 800 motion-activated cameras are being placed in the mountains of Hokkaido, Tohoku, and the Chubu region. They’ll run from spring through autumn, capturing images of bears as they move along trails, feed on beechnuts, and—increasingly—wander into farmland.

“We need to know how many bears are out there and where they’re concentrating,” says Kenji Suzuki, a senior official in the ministry’s wildlife management division. “Without reliable population data, we can’t design effective prevention measures.”

The last national survey, conducted in 2012, estimated around 15,000 Asian black bears and 3,000 brown bears. But experts suspect those numbers are now significantly higher—possibly double. The cameras, combined with hair traps and DNA analysis, will give a much clearer picture.

It’s a massive logistical effort. In some areas, teams are hiking for hours to install cameras on trees, carefully avoiding human scent to not scare off bears. The project is expected to cost roughly 300 million yen (about $2 million) this year.

This high-tech approach mirrors similar efforts elsewhere. For example, researchers studying Adriatic dolphins that now follow trawlers for food also rely on camera traps and GPS tracking to understand how human activity alters animal behavior. The parallel is striking: both dolphins and bears are adapting to a world shaped by us—sometimes with deadly consequences.

Why Are Bears Getting Bolder?

Multiple factors are converging. First, a bumper crop of beechnuts and acorns in 2021 and 2022 led to a baby boom among bears. Those cubs are now subadults—large, hungry, and inexperienced. They’re wandering into unfamiliar territory, including villages, because they’re being pushed out by older, dominant males.

Second, Japan’s rural population is shrinking and aging. Many fields and orchards have been abandoned, becoming overgrown and less productive. That means fewer natural food sources for bears, but also fewer people to scare them off.

“When you have a young bear that’s never been chased by humans, it doesn’t learn to be afraid,” explains Dr. Tanaka. “And once a bear loses its fear of people, it’s very hard to reverse.”

Climate change may also be playing a role. Warmer winters have shortened the hibernation period, forcing bears to stay active longer and search for food when less is available. A study published in 2023 by researchers at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology found that in years with poor nut crops, bears are 10 times more likely to enter human settlements.

The situation echoes other wildlife conflicts worldwide. For instance, hantaviruses spread by rodents have surged in parts of the Americas as humans encroach on natural habitats. The underlying driver—habitat disruption—is the same, even if the species differ.

What This Means for Rural Communities and Conservation

For villagers in places like Odate, Akita Prefecture, the camera project is a double-edged sword. They hope it leads to better management—maybe more culling or relocation—but they also fear that if the true bear population turns out to be huge, the government may not act decisively.

“We can’t live in fear every autumn,” says Toshio Yamada, a 72-year-old farmer who lost part of his orchard to bear damage last year. “We need real solutions, not just cameras.”

The ministry is listening. Alongside the camera survey, it’s expanding electric fences, subsidizing bear-proof garbage bins, and funding community patrols. But the long-term solution may require something more fundamental: reversing rural depopulation and restoring managed landscapes that keep bears in the deep forest.

In the meantime, the cameras are rolling. Data will start streaming in by late 2024, with a full report expected in 2025. For a country facing a crisis that shows no sign of slowing, those images might just be the first step toward a safer coexistence.

What happens next depends on how many bears Japan is willing to tolerate—and how many changes its rural communities can bear.