Will wolves return to Japan?

Could the wolf's return to Japan become reality? When you see how Japan deals with its tens of thousands of bears, wolf reintroductions seem doubtful. But wait, there just might be a way!

The idea of reintroducing the wolf to Japan (there once were native Honshu and Hokkaido wolves and they’ve been officially considered extinct since 1905) has been floated by the Japan Wolf Association for years - and it’s popped up again in news articles these past months. The argument is that wolf would downsize the vast deer, boar and monkey populations responsible for costly forest and agricultural damages.

While many European countries have gone through many years without large predators present - and have thus built up wholly irrational sentiments about them (aided by fearmongering lobbies, of course) - Japan has always been home to bears, many, many bears.

My initial thought was that, surely, if they had the sensibilities, understanding and common sense to get along with so many bears, then reintroducing the wolf - a species so intent on being nowhere near humans whenever possible - should be a walk in the park. There are tens of thousands of black bears on Honshu island (with a just a few more on Shikoku). And on Hokkaido you’ll find an additional twelve thousand of the very large brown bear.

Japan and the bears

While both species are mainly vegetarian, they absolutely can and do pose a potential threat to humans. Wikipedia regales me with the insight that, during the first half of the 20th century, bear attacks on Hokkaido alone caused 141 deaths and 300 injuries.

The sixty years that followed saw ‘only’ 86 attacks, resulting in 33 deaths. A downward trend? Better understanding? Better coexistence measures? Not so much. According to this excellent Reuters article, 2023 alone brought 219 bear attacks, six of them deadly.

So you see, Japan’s relationship with bears isn’t exactly healthy and with so many attacks it doesn’t appear that communities everywhere employ bear-smart principles. And when you see all of those deaths and injuries, I cannot imagine Japanese lawmakers being in favor of reintroducing the wolf - not because the wolf would post a threat to humans, but because of existing bear sentiment that, I think, will inevitable be conflated with the wolf question.

Japan killed over 9’000 black and brown bears in 2023. In addition, there’s a thriving black market for bear parts that fetch a high price. Because of this and continuing habitat destruction, bear populations are declining and it is expected that, unless something changes, the Japanese black bear will be gone within the century.

Is this a country that seems ready to return the wolf to its isles?

The Japan Wolf Association, founded in 1993, is all for it, of course. They gladly admit that, way back then, there was zero willingness to even contemplate returning the wolf to Japan. But they claim that sentiment has changed dramatically, writing that, “between 2006 and 2016, public support for their reintroduction rose from 17.4% to 43.3%. During the same period, opposition fell from 30.2% to just 11.0%.”

But then they also admit that support for the idea has leveled off since, and that Japan’s Ministry of the Environment remains staunchly against wolves in the country. In this article, the Japan Wolf Association’s director Kunihiko Otsuki agrees that at this point there won’t be further forward movement without political lobbying.

And there I personally see little hope … unless the spirits are raised.

The iconic Okami PlayStation 2 game released in 2006

Okami: guardian and divine messenger

The biggest chance I see for the return of the wolf to Japan lies in the country’s wolf-rich history, culture and religion. Lawmakers won’t budge until being pro wolf becomes the politically savvy thing. As ever so often, storytelling is key. In shintoism, the wolf - okami - is a divine messenger and protector. In this animist religion of spirits and guardians, the wolf has always played a prominent role.

From Wikipedia: “In the Shinto belief, the okami is regarded as a messenger of the kami spirits and also offers protection against crop raiders such as the wild boar and deer.” Sound ecological facts were well understood. That insight, learned from observing nature and anchored into their mythology, is exactly why the Japan Wolf Association advocates for the return of the wolf.

“‘Ookami’, the Japanese word for ‘Great God’, is a homonym with a word that means wolf. In fact, prior to Emperor Meiji’s ascension to the throne in 1867/68 which started the Meiji era (1868-1912), the wolf had long been worshipped as a divine messenger or the deity itself called ‘Ooguchi-no-Magami（大口真神） meaning a god of a big mouth’, for harvest, fire and theft protection, breaking off bad relationships, marital harmony, and fertility by people especially in Edo, the former name of Tokyo.” (from Hiroyuki Akaishi’s article)

Wolves guarding shrine in the Chichibu mountains - Photo Credit Michiko Hayashi

There are about twenty wolf shrines on Honshu island alone … when’s the last time you saw a wolf shrine in a European country? This wealth of spiritual history, coupled with modern culture such as the iconic Princess Mononoke and the amazing Okami video game, should be employed to engage and inspire the Japanese population.

If the reintroduction of the wolf were to be storytelling-wrapped in Japan’s rich wolf culture, it might work.

On that note, how I wish there were wolf shrines across Europe - imagine if we had those beliefs, that history and reverence … we just might have the good sense to see and respect them for who they are - guardians and restorers of ecosystem balance.

Cheers,

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