The Asian black bear in the Western Chugoku Mountains, which span Yamaguchi, Hiroshima and Shimane prefectures, is listed in the Environment Ministry’s Red Data Book as a “locally endangered species," and hunting it in the region has been banned in principle since 1994.
However, amid an increase in bear sightings and reports of bear attacks, that 30-year conservation policy is now in jeopardy.
It was the middle of the night on Sept. 20 in a mountainous region of Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, when Kazumi Sayamoto noticed a beaming sensor light in her garden. Looking out of the window of her living room, she saw a black bear about 1.2 meters tall wandering around.
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