The Environment Ministry plans to conduct an emergency survey to discover what has prompted a surge in bear attacks across the country since the summer.
The ministry has sent letters to all prefectural governments other than those in Hokkaido and Kyushu, which are not inhabited by black bears, asking for their cooperation in gathering data, ministry officials said Tuesday.
The ministry hopes to collect data on bear habitats and find out why bears nationwide are more frequently approaching humans and attacking them, they said.