KANAGAWA - A man in his 40s was injured after being attacked by a troop of wild monkeys in Yugawara, a popular hot spring resort town in Kanagawa Prefecture, on September 17, marking the area's first reported case of a person being bitten by a monkey and prompting authorities to strengthen monitoring of the animals using GPS tracking devices.
The man, a local resident, suffered minor injuries and was taken to hospital by ambulance. The incident has heightened concerns about increasingly aggressive Japanese macaques that have become accustomed to living near people, with residents reporting thousands of incidents involving monkeys and local businesses warning of potential damage to tourism.
Wild monkeys have become a familiar sight in Yugawara, one of the Kanto region's best-known hot spring destinations. At around 4 p.m. on October 5, monkeys were observed climbing onto the roofs of houses and moving through thick woodland near residential areas.
Footage recorded in June 2026 showed monkeys emerging one after another from beside a building, including young animals accompanying the adults. The troop crossed roads without hesitation, climbed onto residential walls and appeared undisturbed even when an ambulance passed with its siren sounding. Some monkeys stopped beside the road to groom one another.
Yukinori Aihara, owner of Beer Stand Kadoya in the hot spring district, said the entrance to the resort area had become a regular route for the animals. "This is right at the entrance to the hot spring district. It's become a passageway for the monkeys. They usually appear around 2 p.m., or sometimes as late as 4 p.m.," he said.
The animals belong to a troop known as the T1 group, consisting of approximately 20 monkeys that regularly enter the town.
According to the Yugawara municipal government, 6,054 incidents involving monkeys were reported during 2025, illustrating the scale of the disruption to everyday life.
One of the affected properties is a shared house in the town, where monkeys have been observed moving along electrical wires and balcony railings. Some have attempted to lunge at dogs inside the building through closed windows, while others have managed to enter the premises.
The monkeys were again seen in the hot spring district on September 18, crossing roads despite passing vehicles and showing little fear of human activity. The sighting came just one day after the attack on the local man.
Residents in neighboring Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, have also experienced repeated problems.
One man said monkeys frequently damaged his vegetable crops. "They go after the eggplants, cucumbers and tomatoes all the time," he said, explaining that he had installed protective measures around a shed next to his field.
Another resident said he had reluctantly cut down a peach tree he had been cultivating because it attracted monkeys. He also carried a homemade slingshot to drive the animals away.
The problem is extending beyond residential neighborhoods and farmland into the local tourism industry.
At Mikanya Yugawara Mongawa Agri Park, a mandarin orange farm preparing to welcome visitors for its fruit-picking season in November, operators are concerned that reports of aggressive monkeys could discourage tourists.
The farm expects nearly 200 visitors on busy holidays during the season.
Miho Takasugi, a representative of the farm, said some customers had already expressed concern about the animals. "Customers are genuinely worried about the monkeys, and we're concerned about the damage to tourism caused by the negative publicity," she said.
According to the Kanagawa prefectural government, Japanese macaques are believed to have established themselves near Yugawara's hot spring district around 1955. Their presence has therefore been a longstanding feature of the local environment, although growing contact with people has created new challenges.
Experts say the September attack may have resulted from an encounter in which the monkeys perceived a threat or became agitated.
Seiga Miki, head of Saru Taisakusho, an organization specializing in monkey countermeasures, suggested that some particular action or circumstance may have triggered the animals' aggression.
Miki warned that places such as Yugawara, where monkeys and humans frequently come into close contact, require particular caution because the animals have become increasingly comfortable around people.
Another factor complicating the problem is the growing number of vacant houses in communities experiencing population decline and aging.
Monkeys ordinarily sleep in cedar trees or other trees with dense foliage, choosing locations where they can remain hidden from predators.
However, abandoned residential buildings may provide an equally attractive alternative.
Miki suggested that vacant houses could be functioning as sheltered sleeping places, offering protection from rain, wind and potential threats.
The Yugawara municipal government has received reports from residents who say they have seen monkeys entering and leaving unoccupied properties, particularly in areas near the border between Kanagawa and Shizuoka prefectures.
In fiscal 2024, Yugawara had 433 vacant houses, accounting for 6.5% of the town's housing stock. The number has continued to increase.
Miki said the monkeys may have learned that vacant houses provide a safe and comfortable environment. Once the animals recognize such properties as secure shelters, they are likely to return repeatedly, making it harder to drive them away from residential areas.
With concerns mounting over public safety and the town's reputation as a tourist destination, local authorities have begun strengthening their management of the troop.
Working with the Kanagawa prefectural government, Yugawara has successfully fitted GPS tracking devices around the necks of two dominant male monkeys.
Aihara said the animals wearing the collars could be identified as the troop's leaders.
The devices allow officials to monitor the monkeys' movements and provide location information to teams responsible for keeping them away from populated areas.
When the troop approaches urban neighborhoods, patrol teams use fireworks and firecrackers to frighten the animals and encourage them to retreat.
However, experts caution that such measures may have limited effectiveness against monkeys that have already become accustomed to living alongside people.
Miki said the animals had developed a pattern of using urban areas as part of their normal habitat, making lasting behavioral change difficult.
"The monkeys have become accustomed to living in urban areas. If fundamental measures could be introduced that reverse that behavior, they might return to the mountains or move elsewhere, but achieving that is extremely difficult," he said.
The problem also presents a conservation dilemma.
The Japanese macaques found around Yugawara are designated as an endangered population in Kanagawa Prefecture's Red Data Book, meaning authorities must balance the need to protect residents with the conservation of the animals.
Officials are still considering how the troop should be managed in the longer term.
In the meantime, Yugawara has issued guidance urging residents and visitors to avoid approaching monkeys or making direct eye contact with them.
People are also being advised not to feed the animals or leave anything outdoors that could attract them.
Residents should keep doors and windows locked and use lace curtains or other coverings to prevent monkeys from seeing food inside buildings.
The Kanagawa prefectural government said it was taking the September attack seriously because it involved an injury to a person.
Authorities warned that if existing countermeasures fail to reduce the damage, they may move toward treating the animals as a "difficult-to-manage troop," a designation that could lead to a more intensive management response.
For Yugawara, the challenge is increasingly urgent as the town attempts to preserve its appeal as a hot spring destination while protecting both residents and visitors from wildlife that has grown accustomed to the streets, houses and businesses of the resort community.
Source: フジテレビ 報道【公式】
