Sense of Crisis in World Heritage Shirakawa Village: ‘Never a Year with So Many Bears Before’

Police officers, municipal officials, and members of the local hunting association took part in the exercise, which simulated a call reporting a bear wandering near a house. The drill was designed to confirm procedures under Japan’s new “emergency firearm hunting” system, introduced in September, which allows municipalities to authorize the use of hunting rifles in populated areas when bears or other wild animals threaten human safety. The system has already been implemented in Toyama Prefecture and other regions.

During the training, police reviewed the steps for ordering hunters to use rifles for extermination and confirmed evacuation procedures for residents. “We never know when we’ll encounter such situations. It’s no longer acceptable to say we’re unprepared. We’ll continue to strengthen cooperation with municipalities,” said Takaya Watari, a police inspector from the Takayama Police Station.

Local hunters share a growing sense of crisis. “We’ve seen mother bears with cubs crossing rivers. Both single bears and pairs are appearing. I’ve been hunting for 53 years, but I’ve never seen so many bears in one year,” said Tatsuo Nashitani of the Shirakawa Hunting Association.

Nashitani also pointed out the challenges in applying the emergency firearm system quickly during real encounters. “These are living creatures—they don’t stay in one place. We can’t wait for officials or police to arrive. Bears won’t wait either. In that time, they might attack someone,” he warned.

Beyond wildlife threats, Shirakawa Village faces another challenge unique to its status as a tourist destination. In October, a visitor from Spain was injured after being attacked by a bear near the Shirakawa-go heritage site. Communicating danger to foreign tourists unfamiliar with the language has proven difficult.

“There’s clearly a difference in perception. When we patrol, Japanese people say it’s scary, but foreign visitors tend to take pictures because they find it interesting. Conducting an emergency hunt during the day in the crowded Ogimachi village area would be extremely difficult—it takes time to regulate crowds and ensure safety,” explained Kazunari Takashima, head of the village’s Industry Division.

Balancing public safety with the realities of tourism remains a serious issue for Shirakawa Village. Officials plan to compile manuals and operational guidelines for emergency firearm use by next year to ensure faster and safer responses in future bear encounters.

Source: Nagoya TV News