Environment

Fire Ant Detection Dogs to Undergo Trial Training in Environment Ministry Plan

Yomiuri Shimbun file photo
A Beagle dog identifies a container with a dead fire ant during an experiment in Tsukuba, Ibaraki Prefecture, in October 2023.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:06 JST, November 5, 2025

To prevent the invasion of highly venomous fire ants into Japan, the environment ministry has decided to begin trial training of detection dogs to locate fire ants using their sense of smell, aiming to implement them by next spring.

Native to South America, fire ants are also found in China, the United States and Taiwan. They have been found in Japan since 2017, mainly around containers on international cargo ships, with most believed to have originated from China.

As of late October this year, 36 cases were discovered across 9 prefectures, marking the highest number on record.

The ministry conducts regular port surveys and extermination efforts, but eradication is difficult due to their strong reproductive capacity. Therefore, the ministry is considering introducing Beagles, a breed with proven success as detection dogs in Taiwan. Beagles have an excellent sense of smell and can track the distinctive odor emitted by fire ants, detecting them even when hidden in crevices or underground.