Wildlife is posing an obstacle to rural night trains, particularly in Mie Prefecture, where drivers are forced to slow down to avoid hitting deer, boar and even monkeys.

So much wildlife converges on the tracks between Takihara Station in the town of Odai and Aso Station in Taiki, it sometimes resembles a nighttime safari, officials said.

Yozo Oue, deputy stationmaster of Kii Nagashima Station in Kihoku, said night trains on the Kisei Line of Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) have to proceed with caution because deer suddenly appear in the headlights and are not scared away by train horns.