As bear encounters rise, authorities turn to AI cameras, four-legged robots and pepper-spraying drones, while Tokyo carries out its first emergency bear shooting under relaxed rules
Man Versus Bear, Now With Batteries
TOKYO. Japan, a nation that has never met a problem it could not attempt to solve with a robot, is turning to artificial intelligence, four-legged machines and pepper-spraying drones to deal with a sharp rise in bear encounters, according to The Washington Post’s report on how Japan is turning to AI, robots and drones as bear attacks rise. The bears, for their part, have continued doing what bears have done for several million years, which is to look for food and ignore press releases.
The problem is serious. Between April 1 and August 22 this year, at least six people were killed and 55 injured in bear attacks across 17 prefectures, according to NHK figures cited by Alo Japan, the highest death toll for that period since comparable records began in 2008. In fiscal 2025, bear attacks affected 238 people nationwide, including 13 deaths. Nobody is laughing at that. What follows concerns only the human response, which is where the comedy, as usual, lives.
The Capital Gets Involved
Last month, the crisis reached Tokyo itself. In Hachioji, a city in the western part of the capital, a black bear caught in a trap was shot under emergency measures, the first time such measures had been used in Tokyo, according to Alo Japan’s account of the first emergency bear shooting in the capital. The rules were eased in 2025 to allow municipalities to commission hunters to shoot dangerous animals in populated areas during emergencies, rather than waiting for police authorization in cases of imminent danger.
The news shocked many Tokyo residents, who had assumed that the only wild animals in the city were salarymen after the last train.
The Robot Response
Japan’s technological approach to bears is not entirely new. For several years, farmers in some regions have used robotic deterrents shaped like wolves, with glowing red eyes and recorded howls, designed to frighten wildlife away from crops. Now, according to the Post, the arsenal is expanding to include AI-powered detection, four-legged robots and drones capable of spraying pepper.
A spokesman for the Japan Association of Futuristic Solutions To Ancient Problems welcomed the move. For centuries, humanity faced the bear with only a bell and a prayer, he said. Today we face the bear with a bell, a prayer, an app, a drone, a robot dog and a software update that requires restarting at the worst possible moment.
The Bears Respond
Bear experts suggest that wildlife may initially be startled by new technology but can become accustomed to it. A wildlife researcher in Akita, speaking from a forest where she has spent fifteen years studying bears and nine minutes trying to get a drone to connect to Wi-Fi, said the animals were remarkably adaptable. The first time they see the robot, they run, she said. The second time, they watch it. The third time, they sit next to it and wait to see if it contains snacks.
A Very Japanese Solution
Observers note that the response reflects a national talent for combining cutting-edge technology with meticulous procedure. Each drone deployment reportedly requires flight plans, operator certification and coordination between prefectural offices, which means that by the time all paperwork is completed, the bear has often eaten the persimmons, crossed two prefectures and settled down for hibernation.
Several towns have introduced bear alert apps that notify residents of sightings. Users describe the experience as similar to earthquake alerts, except that instead of instructions to take cover under a table, they are advised to avoid walking alone, make noise and, ideally, live somewhere else.
Meanwhile, the bell industry is booming. Bear bells, small bells hikers attach to their bags to warn bears of their approach, have long been a standard accessory in rural Japan. This autumn, retailers report that demand has spread to commuters, schoolchildren and at least one Tokyo office worker who now wears three bells on his briefcase and jingles gently through Shinjuku station every morning. Colleagues say he sounds like a festive reindeer. He says he has not been eaten, which he considers proof the system works.
The Persimmon Problem
Experts believe one factor in rising encounters is the availability of food near human settlements, including unharvested fruit trees in depopulated rural areas. As Japan’s countryside ages and empties, persimmon and chestnut trees go unpicked, and bears move in. In other words, Japan’s bear problem is partly a demographic problem, which is the one thing a robot dog cannot fix, though several companies are reportedly working on it.
Safety First
Authorities continue to urge residents and hikers in affected areas to carry bells, avoid walking alone at dawn and dusk, secure rubbish and harvest or remove fruit trees near homes. Travellers to rural Japan, especially in autumn, are advised to check local alerts. Those are sensible measures, and none of them requires a firmware update.
The Future
If the technology works, Japan may become the first country to manage wildlife conflict primarily through robotics, a development that would surprise absolutely no one. If it does not, the country will at least have produced some extraordinary footage of a black bear calmly examining a pepper-spraying drone like a customer inspecting a new phone. Either way, the bears are expected to remain unimpressed. They have seen samurai, shoguns and the bullet train. A robot dog is unlikely to change their minds.