Japan Police Conduct Drill Against Bear Attacks Using Shields, Helmets in Akita

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:49 JST, August 21, 2024

AKITA – Due to a series of bear attacks on people in Akita Prefecture, the prefectural police, which have started to use more resistant equipment, conducted a drill Tuesday against bears with the scenario they are in urban residential areas.

This drill was shown to the press for the first time using new equipment.

The newly introduced equipment included helmets and jackets, which are said to provide better protection for the upper body as bears often target the head and neck areas. Twenty sets of the equipment are scheduled to be installed by fall, and four sets each have already been placed at two local police stations.

The training, held at the driver’s license center in Akita City, was attended by police officers of the Community Police Affairs Division of the Akita prefectural police, with shields and other equipment that they have been using for some time. The officers searched for a police officer playing the role of a bear and practiced the process of driving the “bear” away with firecrackers and other tools.

A deputy director of the division said, “We would like to prepare the new equipment because there have been a series of sightings not only in mountainous areas but also in residential areas.”

According to the prefectural government, 10 people have been injured by bears this year, and there have been 657 sightings of bears until July.