Japan creates emergency plan to stop bear attacks
Japan's government has created emergency measures to address record numbers of bear attacks. The Ministry of Environment reported that 13 people have been killed, and more than 100 have been injured by bears since April. The death toll is the highest since records began in 2006. Wildlife management experts have devised a plan to reduce the increasing numbers of fatalities, injuries, and encounters with bears. Part of this plan is to reduce bear populations in areas where the animals have been sighted. Another feature is the establishment of region-specific capture targets. Authorities will also set up a buffer zone in many areas to try to separate bear habitats from human residential areas.There are two species of bear in Japan and their numbers have surged in the past decade. Estimates suggest the Asian black bear population has roughly tripled since 2012 — rising from about 15,000 to around 44,000. The larger and more dangerous Ussuri brown bears, native to the northern island of Hokkaido, have doubled in number. There are several reasons for the growth in bear populations. One is the shortage of beech nuts, which scientists attribute to climate change. Another reason is a declining number of licensed hunters, who were largely responsible for bear culls. Finally, a depopulation of rural areas means bears are venturing into towns and villages.
日本政府已制定緊急措施（tactic，困難詞彙）來應對創紀錄的熊襲擊事件數量。環境省報告指出，自四月以來，已有 13 人死亡，超過 100 人受傷。死亡人數是自 2006 年有記錄以來的最高值。
野生動物管理專家已設計出一項計畫，以減少不斷增加的死亡人數、受傷人數和與熊的接觸（encounter，困難詞彙）。該計畫的部分內容是在發現（sighted）熊隻的地區減少熊的數量（population）。另一個特點是制定針對特定地區的捕捉目標（region-specific capture targets）。當局還將在許多地區設立緩衝區（buffer zone），試圖將熊的棲息地與人類居住區分開。
日本有兩種熊，牠們的數量在過去十年中急劇增加（surged）。估計（Estimates）顯示，亞洲黑熊的數量自 2012 年以來大致增加了兩倍（tripled）— 從約 15,000 隻增加到約 44,000 隻。分佈於北部北海道島的體型更大、更危險的烏蘇里棕熊（Ussuri brown bears），數量則增加了一倍。
熊的數量增加有幾個原因。一是山毛櫸堅果（beech nuts）的短缺，科學家將其歸因於（attribute to）氣候變遷。另一個原因是持牌獵人（licensed hunters）數量的減少，他們主要負責撲殺（culls）熊隻。最後，農村地區人口減少（depopulation of rural areas）意味著熊正在冒險進入（venturing into）城鎮和村莊。
