Asian black bear sightings in Japan totaled 12,067 cases from April to July, the highest figure since records began in 2009. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/12/japan/black-bear-record-high/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #bears #environmentministry
Municipal governments gained the power on Monday to permit the shooting of wild bears in high-density housing areas under an amended law in a bid to prevent further bear-attack casualties. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/09/02/japan/bear-attack-gun-rules/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #bears #guns #environmentministry #hunting #death
The Environment Ministry is looking to increase its funding to local governments to enable them to respond better to bear attacks, which are becoming increasingly common throughout the nation. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/22/japan/budget-increase-eyed-bear-shooting/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #bears #animals #environmentministry #budgets
Japan is pacing efforts to find new sources of critical minerals and leading the surge in urban mining. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/08/21/japan/science-health/urban-mining-critical-minerals/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #sciencehealth #rareearth #mining #waste #recycling #minerals #metals #environmentministry #internationalenergyagency #nationalinstituteformaterialsscience #japan #china
Lake Inawashiro in Fukushima Prefecture has been newly designated as an internationally important wetland under the Ramsar Convention, marking the 54th wetland in the country to be registered. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/16/japan/lake-inawashiro-ramsar-convention/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #fukushima #environment #environmentministry #wetlands
The Environment Ministry has announced guidelines that list conditions and procedures for allowing the shooting of bears and other wild animals in urban areas. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2025/07/08/japan/society/bear-shooting-guidelines/?utm_medium=Social&utm_source=mastodon #japan #society #environmentministry #animals #bears