In response to the death of a 17-year-old woman who was apparently attacked by a bear on the site of a residential building in Toyama City on May 79, Toyama Prefecture held an emergency countermeasure meeting and announced its policy of expanding subsidies to municipalities to raise awareness and capture them.
On the 17th, a 79-year-old woman died on the premises of a residence in Emoto, Toyama City, and police are investigating whether she was attacked by a bear because it appears to be hemorrhagic shock caused by scratching her neck and there were bear footprints on the premises.
In response to this, the prefectural government held an emergency countermeasure meeting on the morning of the 19th, attended by about 50 people, including municipal officials.
Experts who conducted field surveys reported that footprints were found at the site that appeared to be bears heading in the direction of the nearby Kumano River.
On top of that, he said that bears are increasingly likely to appear in plains through riverbeds and riverside forests in search of persimmon fruits due to poor harvests of beech nuts that feed on this year, and called for the removal of persimmon fruits in gardens and the felling of unnecessary persimmon trees.
In addition, in response to a request from a municipal government to increase subsidies for raising awareness and catching bears, the prefecture indicated that it would proceed with the study.
Hidehisa Ueda, manager of the Prefectural Nature Conservation Division, said, "We are considering expanding subsidies to prevent damage to people, so I hope that municipalities will actively use them."