From Predator to Plate: Japan’s Bear Crisis Sparks Culinary Trend and Debate

Since a sharp rise in deadly bear encounters this year, restaurants across northern Japan are reporting booming demand for bear meat — a trend that blends local tradition, economic opportunity and controversy.

From Forests To Restaurants

At a small eatery in the hilly city of Chichibu near Tokyo, 71-year-old hunter-chef Koji Suzuki struggles to keep up with customers seeking grilled bear cuts cooked on a hot stone or simmered in a vegetable-filled hot pot. The meat is sourced from animals culled as authorities try to reduce attacks that have killed a record 13 people so far this fiscal year.

“With news about bears growing, the number of customers who want to eat their meat has increased a lot,” Suzuki told AFP. His wife, Chieko, 64, who oversees the restaurant’s front of house, says they now frequently turn away diners but declined to quantify the rise in business.

Culls, Causes And Government Action

Officials say the spike in dangerous encounters is driven by a combination of factors: rapidly growing bear populations in some regions, Japan’s declining rural population, and poor acorn harvests that push bears to forage in towns and villages. Brown bears, found only on Hokkaido, have more than doubled in three decades to an estimated 11,500-plus by 2023. Japanese black bears remain common across much of the rest of the country.

In response, the government has mobilized troops for logistical support and assigned riot police to help shoot problem animals. The number of bears culled in the first half of this fiscal year has already exceeded the roughly 9,100 taken across all of 2023–2024, and Hokkaido plans to cull about 1,200 bears annually over the next decade. Last year authorities removed protections for bears and added them to species subject to population control.

Economic Opportunity — And Practical Limits

Authorities and some local businesses are promoting bear meat as a way to turn a nuisance into income. The farm ministry said it is important to "turn nuisance wildlife into something positive," and local governments will receive about $118 million (18.4 billion yen) in subsidies to manage populations and promote sustainable consumption.

Chefs from village inns to upscale restaurants are experimenting with bear dishes. In Aomori, a village-owned restaurant sold out after an influencer spotlighted its menu; in Sapporo a French-trained chef sears brown bear before finishing it in a red-wine sauce as part of a multi-course meal. Diners who try it often describe the meat as rich and gamey — "juicy," one first-time eater said.

Still, much of the meat is going unused because processing capacity is limited where the culls are concentrated. Japan has 826 government-approved game-processing factories nationwide, but only a handful operate in the northern prefectures hit hardest by attacks. Some establishments operate their own butcheries to supply local hotels and restaurants, highlighting both innovation and infrastructure gaps.

Questions Remain

While many local officials and restaurateurs view culinary use of culled bears as practical and respectful, others — including some conservationists and ethicists — have expressed concern about the scale of culling and its long-term ecological impact. Balancing immediate public safety, rural livelihoods and wildlife management will remain a complex policy challenge.

Key facts: 13 people killed this year in bear encounters; Hokkaido brown bear population estimated at more than 11,500 by 2023; first-half culls have passed roughly 9,100; about $118 million in subsidies announced; processing capacity remains limited in hard-hit prefectures.

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