In response, the government has since September last year authorised affected municipalities to shoot bears in residential districts when urgent action is deemed necessary.
The report referred to several cases of emergency gun hunting, while stressing the need to train new hunters with advanced knowledge and skills, as Japan’s existing hunters continue to age.
Separately, the white paper pointed to the global oil tanker crisis as evidence of petroleum’s continued importance.
It called on Japan to shift towards a “circular economy”, in which resources and materials are used with high efficiency to generate added value.
Improving resource efficiency, the report said, “also contributes to strengthening (the country’s) economic security.”
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
