SAPPORO -- Hokkaido Prefecture Police are urging caution against mountain accidents as the prime season for picking wild edible plants approaches. The first such incident of the season occurred in mid-April in forests in the prefectural town of Kikonai.

Police and related agencies are concerned about a sharp increase in the number of such incidents in the future, and efforts are being made to raise awareness.

At around 4:40 p.m. on April 17, Kikonai Police Station received a report stating, "My husband hasn't returned from gathering wild plants." According to police, the missing person is an unemployed man in his 80s living in Kikonai. He left home around 7 a.m. that day, and his car was found along a road in the town. Authorities are continuing their search for him.

According to the prefectural police's Community Planning Division, there were 52 mountain accidents involving 55 people in 2024 related to gathering wild plants and 60 such cases involving 63 people in 2023, with the annual average hovering around 60 cases. These incidents typically begin around April, when Alpine leeks become ready to eat, and continue into the bamboo shoot season. Over the past five years, more than 80% of these accidents occurred between April and June.

Alpine leeks often grow on steep slopes, leading to numerous cases of individuals falling while attempting to pick the plants. Additionally, people become so focused on the ground that they lose their sense of direction and get lost as they go deeper into the forest.

In the past three years, there were 16 fatalities related to gathering wild plants, with the most common cause being falls, accounting for 10 of the deaths. Another concern is encounters with brown bears. On April 3, a man was seriously injured after being attacked by a bear in the forests in the prefectural city of Bibai.

A prefectural police official recommends carrying communication devices like smartphones, as well as bells and whistles, and also bear repellent spray when entering the mountains. They caution against leaving communication devices in cars and advise against climbing alone.

(Japanese original by Takumi Taniguchi, Hokkaido News Department)