Far from Tokyo's bright lights and noisy streets Kaori Kawashima walks cautiously on her way to the nearest convenience store in rural Akita Prefecture, where danger might be lurking in the shadows.
"I don't think bears come close to where I live, but there's no way to be sure," the 42-year-old housewife says.
Together with her husband, they take no chances. Every morning they drive their 12-year-old daughter to junior high — breaking the age-old norm that children should walk to school.