Japan’s Police Agency to Distribute Rifles to Prefectural Forces in Response to Increase in Bear Attacks

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:37 JST, November 29, 2025

The National Police Agency will distribute 44 rifles and bullets suited for the culling of bears across the police forces of 13 prefectures, including Akita and Iwate, it said Friday.

The provision of the equipment is part of emergency measures related to the increasing cases of bears attacking people.

According to the NPA, four rifles will be provided to the prefectural police headquarters of Hokkaido, each of the six prefectures in the Tohoku region, Niigata and Nagano prefectures. Two rifles will be provided to the police headquarters of Saitama, Aichi, Osaka and Hiroshima prefectures, where NPA’s regional police bureaus are located.

The NPA plans to gradually conduct relevant training.

Under the emergency countermeasures, 790 sets of equipment consisting of helmets, protective clothing, gloves and other items, will be distributed across 21 prefectural police forces. These are for use by police officers who will take such actions as guiding residents to evacuate areas where bears have been sighted.

The government included ¥480 million necessary for the measures in this fiscal year’s draft supplementary budget, which the Cabinet approved Friday.