Japan is planning to send in its army to help fight bears after a spate of killings by the wild beasts.
Some 73 people have been killed or injured by the animals this month in the area of Akita, in the far north of Japan's largest island Honshu.
Defence Minister Shinjiro Koizumi announced on Tuesday that members of the Self-Defence Forces would be dispatched to help local hunters after the Governor of Akita Prefecture made an appeal for aid.
On Monday, the body of an elderly woman in her 80s was found in a ditch on the outskirts of Akita City.
Authorities confirmed that she had sustained severe injuries and now hunters are tracking a bear thought to be at least four feet long in the area.
On Friday, a couple collecting fruit in the village of Higashinaruse were attacked by another wild bear.
One man who had been working nearby died from injuries which he sustained trying to help the couple, and another was badly mauled.
Appealing to the national Government, Governor Kenta Suzuki said: "Exhaustion on the ground is reaching its limits."
There are 44,000 Asian black bears, also called moon bears, living on Honshu.
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Mr Suzuki added: "Attacks targeting the neck and face are extremely common, resulting in a truly dire situation."
He pleaded: "The lives of our citizens cannot be protected without the help of the Self-Defence Forces."
The Governor said that the numbers of local hunters in the prefecture have dropped, and those that do still exist are overwhelmed with requests to track and kill bears.
According to the Defence Ministry, the military will provide logistical support but will not be armed and will not track or shoot the animals.
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Local hunters are unable to keep up with the high number of requests to deal with bears
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Instead, their tasks will involve setting box traps, moving equipment and hunters around the prefecture and disposing of euthanised bears.
There are two types of bear native to Japan.
One is the Asian black bear, also known as the moon bear, around 44,000 of which live on Honshu.
The other is the bigger brown bear, 11,000 of which live on the main northern island of Hokkaido and can weigh half a tonne and outrun a human.
GRAPHED: The number of fatal incidents involving bears is on the rise
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Incidents involving the wild beasts are particularly common in northern regions of the country, which have seen tourists attacked, and bears entering stores and appearing near parks and schools.
Experts believe the warmer weather is affecting the natural hibernation patterns.
Kevin Short, a naturalist and former Professor of cultural anthropology at Tokyo University of Information Science discussed the reasons behind the recent spike in bear populations.
He told The Telegraph: "There have been poor beech nut crops in recent years, which means that bears have to forage further afield to get the food they need to get through hibernation.
"The rural parts of Japan have been experiencing depopulation for a long time as well and bears are just not as nervous around people as they used to be."