Following a spike in bear sightings and fatal attacks across Japan, the military was called in to help trap bears as local authorities struggle to cope with the wave of attacks. There have been more than 100 bear attacks with a record 12 people killed across the country,

The defence ministry and Akita prefecture’s government signed an agreement on the troop dispatch on Wednesday afternoon, allowing soldiers to set box traps with food inside, transport local hunters, and help with the disposal of dead bears. The soldiers will not use firearms to cull bears.

A Spanish tourist was attacked by a bear in broad daylight while walking to a bus stop in Shirakawa, a village in Japan's Gifu Prefecture known for its picturesque, UNESCO-listed houses.