Kyoto posts signs warning tourists about bears in four languages

KYOTO - The Kyoto city government has put up about 80 multilingual signs throughout the city to warn tourists and residents about bears, as the number of bear sightings in the city has increased.

A sign measuring 1.7m high and 45cm wide has “Beware of bears” written on it in English, Chinese, Korean and Japanese.

The sign, which features an illustration of an Asian black bear, urges people to crouch down and protect their head and neck with their arms when encountering a bear up close.

It also has a QR code on it, which directs to a Kyoto prefectural government website on bear sightings.

The first sign was put up on Nov 29 in front of the Sakyo Ward office’s Yase branch, where bear droppings had been found earlier in November.

A total of 112 reports of bear sightings and other bear-related information were provided to the city government between April and Nov 25, up from 86 in the same period in 2024.

On Nov 28, Japan’s National Police Agency (NPA) said it will distribute 44 rifles and bullets suited for the

The provision of the equipment is part of emergency measures related to the increasing cases of bear attacks on people.

According to the NPA, four rifles will be provided to the prefectural police headquarters of Hokkaido, each of the six prefectures in the Tohoku region, Niigata and Nagano prefectures.

Two rifles will be provided to the police headquarters of Saitama, Aichi, Osaka and Hiroshima prefectures, where the NPA’s regional police bureaus are located.

The NPA plans to gradually conduct relevant training.

Under the emergency countermeasures, 790 sets of equipment consisting of helmets, protective clothing, gloves and other items, will be distributed across 21 prefectural police forces.

These are for use by police officers who will take such actions as guiding residents to evacuate areas where bears have been sighted.

The government included ¥480 million (S$4 million) necessary for the measures in this fiscal year’s draft supplementary budget, which the Cabinet approved on Nov 28. THE JAPAN NEWS/ASIA NEWS NETWORK