Photos: A Bear-Emergency-Response Drill in Japan
Article excerpt
With a recent increase in bear sightings and incidents in rural Japan, local communities are taking steps to prepare for such encounters. In the small city of Yaita, officials and residents worked together recently to practice their bear-emergency response, acting out a simulation on the campus of a primary school.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
A man in a bear costume takes part in an emergency-response drill simulating a bear intrusion in Yaita, Tochigi Prefecture, Japan, June 17, 2026.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Hunters look at a map and diagram while taking part in a bear-emergency-response drill in Yaita on June 17, 2026.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
A man wearing a bear costume takes part in a bear-emergency-response drill in Yaita.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
A participant deploys bear spray during the drill.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
The simulated bear looks up toward hunters inside a school building.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
A hunter prepares to take a simulated shot at the fake bear.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
The simulated bear is down.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
Hunters and a police officer practice their approach while poking the simulated bear.
Kim Kyung-Hoon / Reuters
A man wearing a bear costume lies on the ground, playing dead after a simulated hunt during a bear-emergency-response drill in Yaita, Japan, on June 17, 2026.