A 71-year-old former bear hunter is credited with saving an unspoiled expanse of beech trees in Shirakami-Sanchi, a mountainous area straddling Akita and Aomori prefectures, from a planned forest road. Now he has a new concern: the adverse effects on the local ecosystem ever since the area was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Mitsuharu Kudo began hunting black bears after graduating from junior high school. The decision came naturally as his father was a bear hunter.
To hunt a bear, five or six people work as a team, playing separate roles, such as analyzing the animal's movements and issuing instructions to other members, driving the bear into position before shooting it at close range — usually within 5 meters.