Embracing "Japanese-ness" of Respecting Nature and Passing it on to the Next Generation: Envisioning the Future from the Mountains

Bear Culling, Mountain Changes, and Public Opinion

Regarding the bear problem that has long troubled society, we often hear voices saying, "It's wrong to kill bears other than dangerous individuals." Is the shortage of food in the mountains not a human problem? Is mountain development driving bears away? How can they shoot even hibernating bears? They've killed over 13,000 bears in a year, and they still want to kill more?

While there are counter-arguments like "they don't know the situation on the ground," every time news reports cover bear culling in Hokkaido and Tohoku, many videos and opinions are posted on social media, and protests are sent to the administration.

More and more people are discussing whether the appearance of wild animals in human settlements in search of food is due to the weakening of the mountains. When we hear that the stomachs of culled bears are mostly empty, it makes us question the unconditional culling of hungry, wandering mountain animals even more.

Depopulation of satoyama (foothill villages), insufficient forest management, and the modern Japanese government's forestry policies that prioritize conifers are major factors leading to the depletion of food for animals in the deep mountains. A large wave of environmental destruction in the mountains is adding to the problem. We certainly feel that we need to stop here and think carefully once again. Is it really "the bears' fault"?

Long, long ago, in ancient times, long before civilization was brought to humans, the natural cycle in the mountains repeated itself. In autumn, fallen leaves from broadleaf trees thickly covered the ground, and through the work of microorganisms and small creatures, a soft, fertile soil was created. Rain fell, and rainwater soaked deeply into the humus, was thoroughly filtered, and eventually became clear spring water. Rivers flowed down the mountains, and that water supported human life, agriculture, and nurtured our lives. The fruits of the trees filled the stomachs of birds, squirrels, bears, wild boars, and Japan's diverse wild animals. And these wild animals, walking through the thickets, carried seeds everywhere. This is not a fairy tale, nor are we talking about some special ideal. It is simply the cycle of life in the mountains that this country's great nature has quietly repeated for thousands and thousands of years. And humans, sometimes facing danger, have lived with nature, grateful for its ceaseless blessings. Perhaps now, we are destroying it for our own convenience.

While the government continues to invest enormous tax money in bear culling measures in 2026, and we pay respect to the daily efforts of the administration and related parties working on the ground, it is also another fact that national statistics show that the cumulative number of deaths caused by bears over the past five years from 2021 to 2025 is 29, while the number of murder victims, including preliminary figures, is on the scale of 1,350 to 1,400, traffic fatalities are 12,500 to 13,500, and suicides exceed 108,000. In particular, child suicides under the age of 18 remain at a high level and are said to be on the rise, becoming a serious social problem in a country with a declining birthrate. (Based on publicly available data as of March 2026 from the Ministry of the Environment's "Statistics on Human Damage by Wild Birds and Animals," the National Police Agency's "Crime Statistics," and the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's "White Paper on Suicide Countermeasures")

"What kind of mountains will we leave behind, what kind of future will we pursue?"

Measures for overgrown grass, waste management, electric fences, rubber bullets, tranquilizer guns, sonic deterrents, drone-based acoustic intimidation and dispersal to prevent wild animals from entering human residential areas... In many developed countries such as the United States, Canada, Sweden, and Switzerland, these efforts, including bear countermeasures, are being promoted through collaboration between the private sector and government to maintain wildlife ecosystems and habitats. These international initiatives, centered on preventive measures, align with climate change countermeasures and the principles of the Conference of the Parties to the United United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP), such as the conservation of natural ecosystems and the coexistence of humans and animals.

At the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, commonly known as COP, the issue of human-wildlife conflict related to climate change was already recognized as a challenge within the context of adaptation and ecosystem conservation, with the importance of natural ecosystem conservation and ecosystem resilience being clearly stated in the 2015 Paris Agreement. In response, strengthening adaptation measures by national and local governments, such as restoring wildlife habitats, stabilizing food resources, and establishing early warning systems, has been called for.

Even for the Japanese government, a signatory to the Convention and host of the 10th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP10) in Nagoya in 2010, its responsibility does not merely stop at "safety measures through culling." The Japanese government, as a signatory to the Convention on Biological Diversity, is in a position to promote the conservation of biodiversity, including indigenous wild animals. In light of the principle of comprehensive management under the Wildlife Protection and Management Act, excessive reliance on culling, such as shooting hibernating bears or culling non-dangerous individuals, raises questions about its consistency with the spirit of the law.

From the perspective of ensuring the safety of local residents, the possibility that ecosystem degradation increases natural disaster risks has been pointed out within the framework of an integrated approach to biodiversity conservation and disaster prevention (Nature-based Solutions: NbS). Bears are species involved in forest ecosystems and are large mammals with aspects of an umbrella species (a species whose protection simultaneously conserves many other species in the same habitat). Therefore, from an ecological perspective, there are concerns about the impact of mass culling on ecosystem resilience. Scientific knowledge indicates that a decrease in the population of specific species can disrupt ecosystem functions such as food webs and material cycles, potentially unbalancing the entire ecosystem (IPBES, 2019). For example, since bears are large mammals that play an important role in forest ecosystems through seed dispersal, their decline can lead to a decrease in forest regeneration capacity, and forest degradation can cascade to diverse biological groups, including insect fauna, ultimately weakening the resilience of the entire natural ecosystem. These numerous points are easily understood from a common-sense perspective and hold strong persuasive power.

Perhaps we seem to be standing before the problem of "what to do about bears," but surely we are standing before a much larger question: "What kind of mountains will we leave for the future?" What kind of environment will we leave for the future? There is a gap between the commonly known image of bears and their actual appearance; they are said to be timid animals that naturally avoid humans and live quietly in the deep mountains, eating nuts and insects. Simply continuing to kill wild animals will not solve the root cause of the problem. What kind of environment will we leave for the next generation? If we listen carefully to the warning bells of nature, we can clearly see what we truly need now. What we truly need now is not guns, nor cruel traps, but beech, mizunara oak, konara oak, kunugi oak, chestnut, persimmon, rowan, wild grape, bayberry, wild cherry... The lost, fruitful broadleaf forests of the deep mountains.

"Coexistence"

We want to return to the animals the deep mountains, where various trees naturally grow densely, which we unknowingly took away from them. We want to restore the original state of the deep mountains, untouched by human hands, which we somehow lost. Perhaps returning what we took from animals is the beginning of "coexistence" in this era. Beyond the debate surrounding the bear problem, we can see the choice of future we, living in this era, intend to pursue.

We teach our children to obey traffic rules, so why don't we obey them ourselves? If we step off the sidewalk or place objects on the road, a police officer will warn us, so why do we do it?

We teach not to go beyond the line on a train platform, so why do we try to dominate beyond the line ourselves? Culling. Killing. Euthanasia. Why do we blame the train, the car?

To prevent traffic accidents, we draw lines between sidewalks and roadways and separate them with guardrails. To prevent traffic accidents, we teach children about the dangers of cars. And we teach them: "Obey traffic rules."

It seems there are areas where humans, as humans, should not tread.

Den hunting, spring hunting, government-led hunter training programs, detection systems using infrared sensors, sensing systems using thermal cameras, drone tracking, AI analysis and automatic tracking... However, on the other hand, I hear that an increasing number of municipalities are starting non-lethal coexistence initiatives using the same advanced technology. I also hear that some municipalities have started activities to grow and plant broadleaf tree saplings that bear acorns for the mountains of the next generation. May our choices in this new era be choices that firmly connect the Japanese way of life, respecting nature, to the next generation. This country's rich nature, rich land, rich mountains, continuously dazzling fields, rural landscapes. Deep, rich greenery. Water resources—thinking about "whose grace" it truly is that we can freely use water now, this 2026 April Dream. The future of Japan's mountains may perhaps be the future of Japan itself.

At a flower shop I sometimes visit, I recently bought a large pot of strawberries. In the still chilly season, the many bright red strawberries were lovely, a bit luxurious, and I had them on my balcony for a while to admire. However, one day, the largest strawberry was eaten. Surely a bird found it. Before, I would have been angry and quickly brought the pot inside, but that time, for the first time, I thought this: Perhaps the bird that stole the strawberry flew far into the sky and sowed its seeds somewhere in the mountains. If we eat them, that's the end of it, but if a bird eats them, the seeds will surely sprout vigorously somewhere new. And I thought this: If only we could be a little more generous towards the wild animals that live with us in this country where we were born and raised, perhaps nature would simply and skillfully revive itself, just as it is... I decided to leave the pot where it was. There are no red strawberries left.

◇The Story of the Teddy Bear

In November 1902, the governor of Mississippi decided to host a welcome bear hunt for the then-President of the United States. President Theodore Roosevelt. He was known as a skilled hunter. Grand preparations were made for the welcome bear hunt. However, even after releasing hunting dogs and searching the forest, the crucial bear could not be found. The accompanying hunters finally managed to catch a black bear cub and tied it to a tree for the President. "Go ahead, shoot," the hunters proudly said.

However, Roosevelt looked at the bear and shook his head. The bear was tied to a tree with a rope and could not escape. "Shooting such an animal is not what a gentleman does." Roosevelt said this, put down his gun, and did not shoot the bear.

This story quickly reached newspaper reporters and was published as a political cartoon in a Washington newspaper. And it captured the hearts of the nation. The President, known as a strong man, did not pull the trigger on a captured animal—this image appeared "heroic" to many people. Soon, the owner of a small toy shop in New York came up with the idea of making a stuffed bear and selling it under the name "Teddy's Bear." Teddy was President Roosevelt's nickname. The bear placed in the shop's display window became incredibly popular. This was the birth of the Teddy Bear. Did you know that the origin of the soft teddy bear that children hug in their arms today quietly breathes the story of a president who gently put down his gun in the forest?

『Sachiko's Double Cherry Blossom Tree and a Girl』by Beniko Shimada / March 3, 2022, 2nd printing, Parade Books Her Works – Beniko Shimada (beniko-shimada.com)

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