It was a crisp autumn morning in the northern Japanese region of Akita, and people were on edge.

日本北部的秋田县，一个秋高气爽的清晨，人们心神不宁。

Commuters — some wearing bells, some carrying cans of repellent spray — walked gingerly down leaf-covered streets. Children had been warned to stay indoors. Parks were sealed off with yellow tape — “Do Not Enter!” — and a menacing silhouette. Troops patrolled nearby mountains, brandishing shields and setting traps. Drones flew overhead.

通勤者们有的戴着铃铛，有的揣着防熊喷雾，小心翼翼走在落叶覆盖的街道上。孩子们被警告待在室内，公园用黄色胶带封锁——上面印着“禁止入内！”字样——还立着威慑性的猛兽剪影。自卫队手持盾牌在附近山区巡逻，设置陷阱，无人机在空中盘旋监视。

Akita was on a war footing against a 400-pound, persimmon-loving foe: the Asiatic black bear. The animal has been linked to more than 50 attacks and four deaths in the region this year, part of a nationwide surge of aggression by bears that is testing Japan’s traditional belief in harmonious coexistence with nature.

秋田县正处于战时状态，敌人是重约180公斤、酷爱柿子的亚洲黑熊。黑熊今年已在该地区引发50多起袭击事件，造成四人死亡。而在日本全国范围内，黑熊攻击性激增，正考验着这个国家与自然和谐共处的传统信念。

Bears have injured elderly residents in Akita who were taking out the trash and delivering newspapers. They have sneaked up on mushroom hunters and rice farmers, broken into supermarkets and been spotted on school grounds. One widely circulated video showed an 82-year-old woman being attacked from behind during her morning walk.

在秋田县，曾有长者倒垃圾或送报时遭黑熊袭击。它们悄然逼近采菇人与稻农，闯入超市，甚至现身校园。一段广为流传的视频显示，一位82岁的老妇人清晨散步时，被黑熊从背后袭击。

“When you cross the street in Akita now, you look right, you look left and then you look for bears,” said Akihiro Suzuki, 65, a retired government worker, as he made his way to the library on a recent day. “You never know when a bear might be around.”

“现在在秋田过马路，既要左看右看，还要留意有没有熊，”65岁的退休公务员铃木明广（音）近日前往图书馆时说。“你永远不知道熊什么时候会突然出现。”

位于北秋田和阿仁地区附近的一个村庄，毗邻人类与熊共存的森林地带。

Akita Prefecture, home to about 880,000 people, is on the front line of Japan’s bear crisis, which has penetrated the national psyche and drawn an all-out response from the government. Across the country, nearly 200 people have been attacked by bears this year and 13 have died, a record. Bears have been spotted in northern ski towns and southern villages, and on the outskirts of cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have recently issued travel warnings about bears in Japan.

秋田县约有88万人口，是日本熊患危机的最前线。这场危机已触动国民神经，引发政府全面应对。今年全日本已有近200人遭熊袭击，13人死亡，创下历史纪录。黑熊的踪迹出现在北部滑雪小镇、南部村庄，甚至东京、京都等城市的郊区。美国、加拿大和英国近期均发布了关于日本熊患的旅行警告。

Experts have attributed the rise in attacks partly to climate change, with storms wreaking havoc on vegetation like beech trees, which produce the nuts that bears depend on. Bears have grown increasingly brazen in their quest for calories, venturing into urban centers in search of scraps.

专家认为，袭击事件激增部分源于气候变化，风暴严重破坏了山毛榉等植被，而山毛榉坚果是黑熊的主要食物来源。为了获取能量，黑熊变得越来越肆无忌惮，闯入城市中心寻找残羹剩饭。

山毛榉果实是日本森林中熊赖以生存的食物之一。

Japan’s demographic changes have also exacerbated the problem. Farming communities used to serve as buffers, separating the mountains from more densely inhabited areas. But as Japan’s population shrinks and ages, and as young people move to cities, some rural areas have hollowed out. Bears are moving in, inching closer to human settlements.

日本的人口结构变化也加剧了这一问题。过去，农业社区是分隔山区与人口密集区的缓冲带，但随着日本人口萎缩、老龄化加剧，年轻人涌向城市，部分农村地区逐渐空心化。黑熊趁机迁入，一步步逼近人类聚居地。

In Japan, where mountains and forests make up about 70 percent of the land, bears are considered sacred beings. In Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island, which has also seen a spike in attacks, the brown bear is revered as a deity living in the human realm.

日本70%的国土为山地和森林，黑熊在当地被视为神圣的生灵。在同样遭遇熊袭击事件激增的日本最北端岛屿北海道，棕熊被尊为生活在人类世界的神灵。

But concerns about tradition and conservation have largely been set aside as public anxiety has swelled. The Japanese government sent troops this month to hard-hit areas like Akita to help set traps. Riot police have joined forces with the thinning ranks of hunters to track and kill bears. Drones — including some that emit the sound of barking dogs — have been deployed over parks. A prominent Japanese university recently released a “Bear Encounter AI Prediction Map” to forecast bear activity.

但随着公众焦虑情绪高涨，对传统和环保的考量已被搁置一旁。日本政府本月向秋田等重灾区派遣自卫队协助设置陷阱，防暴警察与日渐减少的猎人联手追踪捕杀黑熊。公园上空部署了无人机，其中部分能发出狗吠声。日本一所知名大学最近还发布了“熊出没AI预测地图”，用于预判黑熊活动轨迹。

Japan amended its strict gun laws this fall to make it easier for hunters to shoot in residential areas. In Tottori Prefecture, in western Japan, a group of hunters gathered recently to practice shooting a bear in an emergency. Two hunters, holding fake rifles, homed in on the “bear,” which was actually a government worker dressed in black and wearing a mask.

今年秋天，日本修改了严格的枪支法，放宽了对于猎人在居民区射杀熊的限制。在日本西部的鸟取县，一群猎人近日聚集起来，练习在紧急情况下射杀黑熊。两名猎人手持仿真步枪，瞄准伪装成熊的目标——实际上是身着黑衣、戴着面具的政府工作人员。

Encounters between humans and bears in Japan are likely to continue, especially in the fall and spring when bears hungriest, before and after they hibernate. The population of bears in Japan has risen in recent years and now exceeds 50,000, experts say, in a country of about 124 million people.

日本的人熊冲突可能还将持续，尤其是在春秋两季，这是熊类冬眠前后最饥饿的时期。专家称，近年来日本黑熊数量不断增加，目前已超过5万头，而日本总人口约为1.24亿。

In Akita, the public is learning to adapt. Stores now open later and close earlier. The delivery of mail has been suspended in some areas. Commuters leave their apartments each morning armed with pocket-size bells and bear spray, which contains chili pepper extract that irritates mucous membranes and eyes and can stop a bear’s charge within seconds. Children no longer walk alone to school.

秋田县民众正在学着适应这种生活：商店推迟开门、提前关门，部分地区暂停邮递服务；通勤者每天早上出门时，随身携带小铃铛和防熊喷雾（含辣椒提取物，能刺激黏膜和眼睛，几秒内就能阻止黑熊袭击）；孩子们不再独自步行上学。

The attacks have brought a somber note to the peak of the fall foliage season, when the region’s fiery maple trees and gold-tinged forests typically draw crowds of carefree, selfie-snapping visitors.

这场熊患给秋田县的红叶旺季蒙上了一层阴影，往年此时，这里火红的枫树和金黄的森林会吸引大批悠闲赏景、拍照留念的游客。

“People have to live their daily lives not knowing when they, their family, co-workers or friends might be attacked,” said Maki Koyama, 50, who works at a cultural center in Akita. “The current situation is one of fear and confusion.”

“人们每天生活在恐惧中，不知道自己、家人、同事或朋友何时会遭到袭击，”50岁的小山真希（音）说道，她在秋田县一家文化中心工作。“现在的情况充满恐惧和混乱。”

鸟取县山城地津町举办了一场熊类安全研讨会。当地官员、警察和猎人齐聚一堂，学习熊的习性以及在目击熊时应采取的应对措施。

The government’s effort to exterminate bears — by setting live traps that resemble steel cages and then shooting them — has troubled some traditional hunters, known as matagi. They follow ceremonies meant to return the bears’ spirits to the heavens. In Akita, bear meat is a local specialty at hot pot restaurants, and bear parts were once sold as medicine.

政府通过设置钢笼式活体陷阱捕杀熊只后将其射杀，这一做法让一些被称为“matagi”的传统猎人感到不安。他们狩猎前会举行仪式，希望让熊的灵魂回归天界。在秋田县，熊肉是当地火锅店的特色食材，熊的身体部位曾被当作药材出售。

“Both we and the bears are in trouble,” said Hideo Suzuki, 78, a matagi hunter in Akita. “I feel sorry for the bears.”

“我们和熊都陷入了困境，”78岁的秋田县山林猎人铃木英夫（音）说。“我为这些熊感到难过。”

左为猎人铃木英夫，右为猎人伊藤胜，二人手持名为“长匕”的传统狩猎工具。

The ranks of hunters have dwindled in Akita in recent decades, contributing to the rise in the bear population. There were once hundreds of hunters in Mr. Suzuki’s group; now there are only about three dozen. He said it has been difficult to recruit young hunters as rural areas empty out.

近几十年来，秋田县的猎人数量大幅减少，这也是熊数量增多的原因之一。铃木英夫所在的狩猎小组曾有数百人，如今仅剩30多人。他说，随着农村地区人口流失，很难招募到年轻猎人。

“There’s nothing for young people to do here,” he said, “so there’s no need for them to come.”

“这里没有年轻人的活干，所以他们没必要回来，”他说。

The arrival of reinforcements in Akita this month is meant to help restore a sense of security and calm. Bears have dominated the national news recently; television channels routinely broadcast safety videos showing what to do in case of an encounter.

本月抵达秋田县的自卫队旨在帮助恢复当地的安全感和平静。近期，熊的话题占据日本新闻头条，电视台频繁播放安全指南视频，教导民众遇熊时该如何应对。

Victims of bear attacks are also speaking out, urging a forceful response. Keiji Minatoya, the owner of a confectionery store in Akita, was attacked by a bear in his garage two years ago. The bear tore off a piece of his earlobe; when he looked in the mirror, he could see part of his skull. The bear attacked four other people in his neighborhood that day.

熊袭受害者也纷纷发声，呼吁采取强硬应对措施。秋田县一家糖果店老板皆藤惠二（音）两年前在车库遭熊袭击，耳朵被咬掉一块，照镜子时能看到部分头骨。当天，这只熊还袭击了附近四名居民。

皆藤惠二将烟花作为工具，用来驱赶熊。

Mr. Minatoya, who still feels some numbness and tingling in his head and has a scar across his face, said that culling the population of bears was a “necessary evil.” He said he wished he could kill and eat the bear that attacked him.

皆藤惠二的头部仍有麻木感和刺痛感，脸上留着疤痕。他表示，捕杀熊是“必要之恶”，甚至希望能亲手杀死并吃掉袭击自己的那只熊。

”They’re more aggressive than I thought, and incredibly strong for their size,” he said. “They’re extremely fast, powerful and aggressive.”

“它们比我想象的更具攻击性，而且相对于体型来说，力量惊人，”他说。“它们速度极快、力量强大、极具攻击性。”

In Akita, business owners have seen a decline in foot traffic because, they said, people are too scared to go out. Tourists are still making the trek to the region, but they are shortening itineraries or staying indoors.

秋田县的商家表示，由于人们吓得不敢出门，客流量明显下降。游客仍会前来，但会缩短行程或尽量待在室内。

“It’s not worth the risk of being eaten,” said Teresa Liu, a visitor from Taiwan.

“不值得冒被熊吃掉的风险，”来自台湾的游客特蕾莎·刘（音）说。

Senshu Park, known for its cherry trees and cypresses, has been repeatedly closed this fall following bear sightings. Traps have been set up in the park, and workers have flown drones overhead to search for bears.

今年秋天，以樱花树和柏树闻名的千秋公园（音）因多次发现黑熊踪迹而反复关闭。公园内已设置陷阱，工作人员操控无人机在空中搜寻黑熊。

Around the corner, Rumi Uematsu, 55, manages a toy store and after school program. She worried about the impact of the bear crisis on young children, who already endured the restrictions of the Covid-19 era.

街角处，55岁的植松留美（音）经营着一家玩具店，还开办了课后托管班。她担心熊患危机对孩子们的影响，这些孩子已经经历过新冠疫情时期的限制。

“They have finally regained their freedom,” Ms. Uematsu said, “and now they have to live with anxiety again.”

“他们终于重获自由，现在却又要生活在焦虑中，”植松留美说。

Ms. Uematsu was awakened one night last month by the growl of a bear outside her home. She nervously opened her window, but the bear was gone.

上个月的一个晚上，植松留美被屋外的熊吼惊醒。她紧张地打开窗户，熊已经不见了。

“We need to think of new countermeasures,” she said. “Right now, all we can do is take emergency steps and hope.”

“我们需要想出新的对策，”她说。“现在我们能做的只有采取紧急手段，然后盼望。”