Masaru Koyama of Hoshino Wildlife Research Center keeps track of them to determine how far they range. Now there's almost no regulation on hunting of the bear and almost no scientific data about bears in Japan. So I think it's very important to gather all this information and understand the real state of the bears living here. Officially, about 1,400 bears are killed every year in Japan for sport hunting and pest control. But conservationists say they think the number is much higher.
Pharmacists say their stocks of imported bear bile medicine are almost exhausted.
International trade restrictions and conservation laws have shut down imports from sources like Chinese bear bile farms, widely condemned as inhumane. Wildlife experts say without more controls on hunting, Japan's wild bears could soon be in peril. And those concerned about the bears say the importance of their cause is still unrecognized by government authorities and widely ignored by the Japanese public. Pages will open in a new browser window External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive. An AOL Time Warner Company.