TOKYO: The Tokyo metropolitan government plans to lift a ban on hunting Asian black bears next fiscal year for the first time in about 20 years. Relevant discussions will begin at a council to formulate a mid- to long-term bear management plan by the end of this fiscal year.
In response to a series of bear sightings that resulted in injuries near urban zones in the Tama area since autumn last year, the metropolitan government is set to introduce a bear management-based approach, changing its stance from prioritising bear conservation.
On June 16, a senior metropolitan government official explained a policy to formulate an Asian black bear management plan during talks with representatives of political parties and parliamentary groups at the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
Answering questions from participants including Mitsuyoshi Hirata, a Liberal Democratic Party assembly member, the official said, “We are considering a limited lifting of the ban on hunting to increase bear culling.”
Since bear hunting requires advanced skills and experience, the metropolitan government will establish criteria for hunter authorisation, taking the opinions of hunting associations into account.
The metropolitan government will invite experts to its Natural Environment Conservation Council for discussions on areas where bear hunting is to be permitted and on the maximum number of bears that will be allowed to be taken.
The plan is expected to include zoning methods in which bear habitats are managed to facilitate coexistence between humans and bears. Other measures include clearing away bushes to prevent bears from approaching residential areas and widespread bear damage prevention measures in collaboration with neighboring prefectures.
Since bears may move along the Tama River and reach the densely populated 23 wards, measures to be taken around riverbanks will also be considered.
In Tokyo, Asian black bears inhabit the mountains around Okutama, which borders Saitama and Yamanashi prefectures. Previously, their population was small, and the metropolitan government had banned hunting of bears by designating them as subject to protection since 2008.
However, their habitat has expanded in recent years, and bears were spotted in urban areas of Hachioji and Hamura last autumn. In May, a male foreign national was attacked by a bear and suffered serious injuries, and the body of a person who may have been attacked by a bear was found in the mountains around Okutama.
In Tokyo, 212 bears were sighted in fiscal 2025, nearly double the 114 seen in fiscal 2023. The metropolitan government estimates the population of bears is on the rise as well.
Training hunters will be imperative for lifting the ban on hunting. According to the Environment Ministry, about 3,800 people in Tokyo had a Class 1 gun hunting licence, which allows them to handle rifles and other firearms, as of fiscal 2021, a decrease of about 2,000 from fiscal 2003.
At the assembly meeting, the senior metropolitan government official also expressed an intention to hold practical training sessions to cultivate hunters. - The Japan News/ANN
