Japanese tourist village battles to keep bears at bay

Shiroki Mitsunari does not remember seeing bears in the picturesque Japanese mountain village of Shirakawa when he was a child.

But since a cub attacked a Spanish visitor there last month, protecting residents and the throngs of tourists who flock to his hometown to see its UNESCO-listed thatched-roof cottages has been his top priority.

“There are a lot more bears coming,” said Mitsunari, 40, a local official overseeing efforts to deter bears in the village , located in a remote valley in central Japan, roughly halfway between Tokyo and Osaka.

He attributed the surge to a growing bear population and a shortage of their natural food sources.

While the tourist escaped with minor injuries, authorities have captured six bears near the historic Shirakawa-go site using honey-laced traps