Recently, I visited Daisen City, Akita Prefecture, to cover a telecommunications construction site. Details will be published in our 2026 New Year’s issue, but one thing that particularly struck me while walking around the Akita construction site was how the engineers working there were on guard against bear attacks.
They always carry bear spray and a bell when heading to a construction site.
Bear spray is highly irritating, and when sprayed in a bear’s eyes, nose, or throat, it stops the bear from charging and causes it to struggle. Apparently, the trick is to escape while the bear is struggling.
Not just in Akita, but at construction sites across the region, it’s not uncommon for workers to work deep in the mountains or in completely deserted fields. It’s not surprising that they might become so engrossed in their work that they forget their surroundings and suddenly find themselves confronted by a bear.
The engineer I interviewed said he hadn’t encountered a bear yet, but he was constantly on guard.
As is widely known, Akita has seen a series of bear-related incidents.
In fact, when I visited Daisen City on Monday the 20th, a bear was spotted in the city, causing a bit of a commotion. Since the following day, bear attacks have continued in the city. As of the time of writing this article in the early hours of Friday the 24th, the bear has not been captured and is still roaming the city. Speaking to people in Akita, it becomes clear that encounters with bears are commonplace.
Safety and quality are eternal themes in telecommunications construction work, but in areas like Akita where bears are frequently seen, damage caused by wild animals is threatening the safety of the work.
It seems that work on site is becoming a life-risk for local engineers.
Unless an environment is created where workers can devote themselves to their work with peace of mind, it will be difficult to produce high-quality construction work. When dealing with wild animals that appear and disappear unexpectedly, it is difficult to immediately think of what measures can be taken, but new measures are clearly needed. (Kei Kitajima)

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