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Police allowed to shoot bears in Japan

Police officers attend a ceremony held to mark the formation of a bear-hunting team in Akita, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 13, 2025, as amended rules take effect permitting police officers to use rifles to kill bears the same day amid a surge in attacks on humans.

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Police allowed to shoot bears in Japan

Police officers attend a ceremony held to mark the formation of a bear-hunting team in Akita, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 13, 2025, as amended rules take effect permitting police officers to use rifles to kill bears the same day amid a surge in attacks on humans.

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Bear killed after 2-day rampage through Japan supermarket

A minitruck carrying a bear which was trapped and killed after a two-day stay in a supermarket is seen leaving the facility in Akita, northeastern Japan, on Dec. 2, 2024. The animal attacked a male employee and ate from the store's meat section, according to police.

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Heavy rain in Akita

A woman walks past a submerged vehicle in Akita, northeastern Japan, on July 16, 2023, following heavy rain.

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Japan's MSDF begins operation to retrieve sunken helicopter

AKITA, Japan, Oct. 26 Kyodo - Photo taken on Oct. 26, 2017, from a Kyodo News plane shows a Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force operation underway to retrieve a helicopter that sank in the sea after crashing off Aomori Prefecture in northeastern Japan in August in an accident that left three of the four crew members missing, believed dead.

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'Haiku' anthology from 1899 gathering hosted by Masaoka Shiki

AKITA, Japan - Seiichi Hasebe reads the original handwritten anthology of 300 Japanese "haiku" poems, a collection of poems from a New Year's haiku gathering in 1899 hosted by famed poet Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), in Akita, northeastern Japan. He found the collection in May 2014 when sorting the belongings of Akita native poet Ishii Rogetsu.

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'Haiku' anthology from 1899 gathering hosted by Masaoka Shiki

AKITA, Japan - Cover of the recently-discovered original handwritten anthology of 300 Japanese "haiku" poems, a collection of poems from a New Year's haiku gathering in 1899 hosted by famed poet Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), is seen in this photo. The collection found in May 2014 in Akita, northeastern Japan, contains Shiki's handwriting.

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'Haiku' anthology from 1899 gathering hosted by Masaoka Shiki

AKITA, Japan - The recently-discovered original handwritten anthology of 300 Japanese "haiku" poems, a collection of poems from a New Year's haiku gathering in 1899 hosted by famed poet Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902), is seen in this photo. The collection found in May 2014 in Akita, northeastern Japan, contains Shiki's handwriting.

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Production of rice sticks begins in Akita, northern Japan

AKITA, Japan - Female workers at Hamanoya, a long-established Japanese restaurant in Akita, northeastern Japan, put mashed rice from a new crop onto skewers on Sept. 23, 2014, to produce "Kiritanpo" rice sticks for use in a traditional pot dish.

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Women in traditional costume make rice sticks

AKITA, Japan - Women workers clad in traditional costume produce "Kiritanpo" rice sticks from a newly harvested rice crop at Hamanoya, a long-established Japanese restaurant in Akita, northeastern Japan, on Sept. 23, 2014.

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"Kanto Festival" starts in Akita

AKITA, Japan - Photo taken Aug. 3, 2014, in the northeastern Japan city of Akita shows "kanto" bamboo poles with paper lanterns. The city is expecting 1.35 million people to join the four-day "Kanto Festival."

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"Kanto Festival" starts in Akita

AKITA, Japan - Photo taken Aug. 3, 2014, in the northeastern Japan city of Akita shows "kanto" bamboo poles with paper lanterns. The city is expecting 1.35 million people to join the four-day "Kanto Festival."

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Inaugural members of 'Akita Maiko' program debut

AKITA, Japan - Three young women perform at a hotel in the city of Akita in northeastern Japan on Aug. 1, 2014, after completing a training program as "Akita Maiko" to revive the local tradition of "Kawabata geisha." Maiko is an apprentice geisha.

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3 women certified as 'Akita Maiko'

AKITA, Japan - Three young women hold a certificate after completing a training program as "Akita Maiko" to revive the local tradition of "Kawabata geisha" on Aug. 1, 2014, at a hotel in the city of Akita in northeastern Japan. Maiko is an apprentice geisha.

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Candy festival held in Odate, Akita

AKITA, Japan - A small child holds a candy at the "Amekko-Ichi" (Candy Market) Festival in Odate, Akita Prefecture, on Feb. 8, 2014. The traditional festival, dating back to 1588, is held based on a saying that people who eat candies stay healthy.

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Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

AKITA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the swollen Yoneshiro River in Kitaakita, Akita Prefecture, on Aug. 9, 2013, after heavy rain hit areas of northeastern Japan.

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Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

AKITA, Japan - A local resident looks at the devastation in an area of Semboku, Akita Prefecture, on Aug. 9, 2013, after heavy rain hit areas of northeastern Japan.

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Heavy rain in northeastern Japan

AKITA, Japan - Photo from a Kyodo News helicopter shows the swollen Yoneshiro River in Kitaakita, Akita Prefecture, on Aug. 9, 2013, after heavy rain hit areas of northeastern Japan.

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Puppy to be given to Putin

AKITA, Japan - Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake holds a puppy named "Yume" at the prefectural government hall in the city of Akita on July 23, 2012. The Akita prefectural government will give the puppy to Russian President Vladimir Putin following Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's offer to make a gift of an Akita-breed dog to the Russian leader during their meeting in Los Cabos, Mexico, in June 2012 on the sidelines of the Group of 20 summit.

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Elpida files for bankruptcy protection

AKITA, Japan - Photo taken Feb. 27, 2012, shows Akita Elpida Memory Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese semiconductor maker Elpida Memory Inc., in Akita, Akita Prefecture. Elpida and Akita Elpida filed for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court the same day.

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Elpida files for bankruptcy protection

AKITA, Japan - Photo taken Feb. 27, 2012, shows Akita Elpida Memory Inc., a subsidiary of Japanese semiconductor maker Elpida Memory Inc., in Akita, Akita Prefecture. Elpida and Akita Elpida filed for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court the same day.

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Kenyan Nobel Prize winner Maathai dies

TOKYO, Japan - File photo shows Kenyan Nobel Peace Prize winner and environmentalist Wangari Maathai (front R) planting a young tree at a beach in the city of Akita, northeastern Japan, in April 2007. Maathai died at the age of 71 on Sept. 25, 2011, at a hospital in Nairobi while undergoing treatment for cancer, according to her organization the Green Belt Movement.

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Japan governors' disaster reconstruction proposals

AKITA, Japan - (from R) Akita Gov. Norihisa Satake, Kyoto Gov. Keiji Yamada and Toyama Gov. Takakazu Ishii speak at a press conference after a two-day meeting of prefectural governors from across Japan in the city of Akita, northeastern Japan, on July 13, 2011. The meeting adopted a set of proposals on Japan's reconstruction from the March quake and tsunami.

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TV hit spurs S. Korean tourists to visit Akita Prefecture

AKITA, Japan - South Korean tourists take pictures in front of a dome-shaped ''kamakura'' hut made of hardened snow in Yokote, Akita Prefecture, on Feb. 10, 2010.

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Life sentence for woman upheld for murder of daughter, boy

AKITA, Japan - The Sendai High Court on March 25 upheld the life sentence given to Suzuka Hatakeyama, 36, convicted of killing two children, including her own daughter, in Akita Prefecture. (Pool photo)

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Chihuahua with heart mark wins hearts in Akita dogs' heartland

AKITA, Japan - A new-born male Chihuahua (photo taken in late June) bears a light brown heart-shaped mark, catching the fancy of pet owners and animal lovers in Akita Prefecture, the heartland of Akita dogs. The dog, being raised at a local pet shop, is not for sale.

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Cherry blossoms in northern Japan in warm winter

AKITA, Japan - A cherry tree in the courtyard of Akita prefectural government blossoms in warm winter. Prefectural officials say the tree, one of two cherries planted in the courtyard, usually blossoms in mid-April. The other cherry tree, known in Japanese as Kinkimame cherry, which usually blossoms in late March, started blossoming on and off since November, its roots apparently warmed by hot-water pipes buried nearby the tree, officials say. The courtyard was used as a snow dumping site last year, and at one point 4 meters high of snow were dumped there after a huge snow storm hit the area.

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Akita woman says she killed boy because of daughter's death

AKITA, Japan - Two lawyers for Suzuka Hatakeyama, an Akita woman arrested on suspicion of abandoning the body of a 7-year-old boy, speak at a press conference after interviewing her. They said Hatakeyama told them that she killed the boy on impulse while thinking of her own daughter who was found drowned in April.

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Elementary school boy found dead in Akita Pref.

AKITA, Japan - A villager looks on as policemen check the banks Yoneshiro River in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, where an elementary school boy was found dead on May 18. Police suspect foul play in the death of Goken Yoneyama, 7, of Fujisato town in the prefecture.

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Largest municipal assembly in Japan kicks off session

AKITA, Japan - The municipal assembly of the city of Daisen in Akita Prefecture, the largest in Japan with 136 members, convenes a session on March 28. Daisen city was established March 22 by merging Omagari city, six towns and a village in the prefecture.

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Mayor stands in as Canadian polar bear at aquarium opening

AKITA, Japan - A polar bear greeted visitors at the July 13 opening of Oga Aquarium GAO in Akita Prefecture -- not the real one that should have arrived from Canada, but Oga Mayor Issei Sato clad in a polar bear outfit as a ''temporary stand-in.'' Sato had promised that if the polar bear, a main attraction of the new prefectural aquarium, failed to arrive in time for the opening, he would put on the outfit ''as a performance.'' ''It's hot,'' Sato said when asked by reporters how it felt. ''I hope a real bear gets here as soon as possible.''

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Russian team wins women's group sports acrobatics

AKITA, Japan - The Russian team performs during the women's group sports acrobatics competition of the sixth World Games at Akita City Gymnasium on Aug. 21. They won the gold medal.

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Athletes arriving at Akita to take part in 6th World Games

AKITA, Japan - The ID card exchange counter at Akita Airport is crowded on Aug. 14 with athletes, who will take part in the sixth World Games held in the northern Japanese city of Akita on the Sea of Japan. Some 2,400 athletes from 90 countries and areas will participate in the Aug. 16-26 multi-sport event hosted by the International World Games Association.

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Kanto Festival begins in Akita

AKITA, Japan - Men balance ''Kanto'' -- a long bamboo pole with several horizontal ribs from which paper lanterns are hung -- at the annual Kanto Festival, which began Aug. 4 in Akita, northern Japan, in anticipation of a good harvest.