Aomori installs 12 AI bear-detection cameras in Hakkoda mountains
In short
Aomori Prefecture installed 12 sensor cameras with AI bear recognition in the Hakkoda mountains on 21 October. The cameras are a demonstration project to prevent injuries to people and are due to stay until mid-November.
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Aomori Prefecture installed 12 sensor cameras with AI recognition in the Hakkoda mountains on 21 October, as a demonstration project to prevent injuries to people from bears. Nippon TV reported it as the first time the prefecture had installed such cameras. Six staff members, including people from the prefecture's nature conservation division, carried out the installation, Nippon TV said. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
Mainichi reported that the cameras are mounted at 12 points along National Route 103 and Prefectural Route 40, in the Hakkoda range in Aomori and Towada cities, and run 24 hours a day. When a camera detects the movement of a bear or other wildlife, the footage is sent to the cloud. Nippon TV said that when the AI recognises a bear, a notification goes to the prefecture and the municipality in charge. Staff then check the footage and post it to the Kuma Log system to call for caution. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
TBS said the system should make information on sightings in the mountains available faster than before. Mainichi described Kuma Log Aomori as a sighting-information site run by the prefecture, and said detections are reflected on it immediately. [ 2 , 4 ]
Nippon TV said the prefecture paid for the cameras from its September supplementary budget and timed the trial for the period before bears hibernate. According to the prefecture, about one third of bear injuries to people in the past 20 years occurred in October and November. Mainichi added that autumn is a time when bears move around to build up nutrition, and many hikers go into the mountains in the foliage season. [ 1 , 4 ]
TBS reported that in June 2026 a man was killed and a woman injured in a bear attack in Hakkoda. Mainichi said bear injuries to people occurred there one after another in June. Hiroshi Kawamoda, head of the prefecture's nature conservation division, said: "We want to use cameras with AI recognition to inform everyone widely about sightings, to reduce encounters with bears even a little. I hope that damage from bears will fall by even one case." Mainichi quoted him asking people not to enter mountains where mushroom picking is not permitted, not to leave trails, to check Kuma Log and to stay away from areas where bears have appeared. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
TBS said the cameras will be in place until mid-November and will then be lent to other municipalities if they ask. Nippon TV said the prefecture plans to install similar cameras in each municipality. [ 1 , 2 ]
Why it matters
The prefecture says about one third of bear injuries to people over the past 20 years occurred in October and November. The cameras are meant to share bear sighting information faster, and the prefecture said it hopes to reduce bear damage even by one case.
Key facts
- Aomori Prefecture installed 12 sensor cameras with AI recognition in the Hakkoda mountains on 21 October. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The cameras are a demonstration project to prevent injuries to people, set up with the prefecture's September supplementary budget. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- Mainichi reported the cameras are mounted at 12 points along National Route 103 and Prefectural Route 40 and operate 24 hours a day. [ 4 ]
- When the AI recognises a bear, the prefecture and the municipality concerned are notified, and staff check the video and post it to the prefecture's Kuma Log system. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The prefecture says about one third of bear injuries to people in the past 20 years occurred in October and November. [ 1 ]
- TBS reported the cameras will stay in place until mid-November. [ 2 , 4 ]
Confirmed by several sources
- On 21 October Aomori Prefecture installed 12 AI-equipped sensor cameras in the Hakkoda mountains as a demonstration project to prevent bear injuries. [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 ]
- The AI identifies bears from camera footage, the prefecture and municipalities are notified, and staff check the footage and reflect it in the prefecture's Kuma Log system. [ 1 , 2 , 4 ]
- The cameras are to remain in place until mid-November. [ 2 , 4 ]
- Prefecture nature conservation division head Hiroshi Kawamoda said he hopes the cameras will reduce bear damage by even one case. [ 1 , 2 ]
Still unclear
- What happens to the cameras after the trial. Nippon TV said similar cameras are planned for each municipality, while TBS said they will be lent to other municipalities that request them after mid-November.
- Whether the cameras will reduce bear injuries. The documents describe the aim of the trial but give no results.
- Whether this is the prefecture's first installation of such cameras. Only Nippon TV's headline and lead say the cameras were installed for the first time.