179: Bear goes the neighborhood? Japanese wildlife is on the move

As nature reclaims depopulated villages and climate change wreaks havoc on food sources, Japan’s animal population has been inching closer to the country’s urban areas. This week, Alex K.T. Martin joins us to discuss why people are encountering bears, boars and other wildlife in the most unlikely of places.

Hosted by Shaun McKenna and produced by Dave Cortez.

On this episode: 

Shaun McKenna: Articles | X 

Alex K.T. Martin: Articles | X 

Dave Cortez: Articles | X

Read more: 

The concrete forest: Bears, boars and more head for the cities (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times)

​​A saury state of affairs: How the price of ‘autumn’s fish’ skyrocketed (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times)

In the shadow of the Fukushima disaster, an unusual experiment in rewilding (Alex K.T. Martin, The Japan Times)

Samurai Restaurant Time gives kitschy thrills fit for Kabukicho (Laura Pollacco, The Japan Times)

Japan set to scrap rule requiring testing of new drugs on Japanese (Kathleen Benoza, The Japan Times)

Japan women prisoners suffer serious abuse: Human Rights Watch (Tomohiro Osaki, AFP-JIJI)

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Photo: Bears doing yoga? If you’re in the city, why not? | GETTY IMAGES