Latest news with #StateRedressAct
The Mainichi
20-07-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Japan firm offers bear hunting insurance to local gov'ts as law broadens rifle use
TOKYO -- As bear-related injuries rise in Japan, an insurance company is offering to cover local governments for damages related to wildlife control once legal revisions allow for expanded urban use of hunting rifles under certain conditions from September. Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co. has developed a new insurance policy for municipalities to cover damage to buildings or vehicles caused by stray bullets during the culling of dangerous wild animals such as bears in urban areas and elsewhere, responding to revisions in the Wildlife Protection, Control, and Hunting Management Act. The policy aims to reduce liabilities and burdens among those involved in animal control. Until now, hunting rifles could only be used against bears appearing in urban areas in limited cases, such as when hunters were authorized by police officers under the Police Execution of Duties Act. Due to a surge in bear attacks, however, the revised law will from September allow municipal employees and hunters to use them under the authority of local governments if certain conditions are met, such as when there is a risk of harm to humans. The Ministry of the Environment has newly designated bears and wild boars as "dangerous wild animals" under the legal change. With the expected increase in urban rifle use, the risk of damage to nearby buildings and property is also expected to rise. The act stipulates that municipalities must compensate for damage to buildings, vehicles or personal property from rifle fire in urban settings. The new insurance policy will cover such losses up to 30 million yen (around $202,000). The insurance covers not only repair costs, but business losses, such as lost rental income if rental properties are damaged. Personal injury however, remains outside its scope, as compensation for such cases are handled under the State Redress Act. Annual premiums will start at about 100,000 yen (some $675), but will vary per municipality depending on the number of bear sightings in the previous fiscal year. The policy will be available starting in September, and the company plans to promote it to local governments nationwide. Between April and June, 37 people have suffered bear-related injuries across Japan, keeping pace with 39 recorded during the same period in fiscal 2023, when the country saw the highest number of victims at 219 people since records began being kept in fiscal 2006. On July 4, an 81-year-old woman was found dead in her home in the city of Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, with multiple claw marks on her entire body including her head. The prefectural police are investigating the incident as a suspected bear attack. On July 12, a 52-year-old newsstand employee was fatally attacked by a brown bear in the town of Fukushima, Hokkaido. The Hokkaido Prefectural Government has responded with enhanced protective measures, including a "brown bear alert" calling for heightened vigilance across that entire town.
The Mainichi
25-04-2025
- Politics
- The Mainichi
Japan Supreme Court upholds damages against city over defamation by ex-Mayor Ishimaru
TOKYO -- Japan's Supreme Court on April 23 upheld two lower court rulings that ordered the city of Akitakata, Hiroshima Prefecture, to pay damages for defamation caused by social media remarks by former Mayor Shinji Ishimaru, rejecting an appeal by the city. In its ruling, the Third Petty Bench of the Supreme Court overseen by Presiding Justice Kimihiro Ishikane upheld earlier district and high court decisions that had ordered the city to pay 330,000 yen (approx. $2,300) in damages for defamation of assembly member Atsuko Yamane, finalizing the municipal government's defeat in the case. The decision was unanimous by the five justices present. After serving as mayor of Akitakata, Ishimaru ran in the Tokyo gubernatorial election in July 2024, placing second in the race. According to the lower court rulings, in November 2020, when Ishimaru held the mayoral post, he repeatedly posted claims on social media saying that when he discussed the state of the assembly with council members, Yamane threatened, "If you make enemies of the assembly, it will be impossible to pass policies." The Hiroshima District Court ruling in December 2023 found that the alleged statement was not recorded in audio data of the meeting, and determined the posts were untrue. Since the posts were made using the mayoral account, the court recognized the act as an official duty. The Hiroshima High Court in July 2024 supported this judgment. Under Japan's State Redress Act, if a local government employee such as a mayor is found to have caused damage to another person unlawfully, the municipality, not the individual official, is liable for compensation.
