Raccoons spread into Japanese cities as farm damage mounts

TOKYO - Raccoon damage is rising sharply across Japan, with agricultural losses nearing 700 million yen (S$5.7 million) a year as the invasive species expands into cities as well as rural areas.Damage to agricultural crops caused by raccoons reached 693 million yen nationwide in the fiscal year starting April 2024, more than double the 334 million yen recorded in 2014, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries.The problem is also becoming increasingly visible in urban areas.In Osaka, complaints from residents about raccoons have climbed in recent years, including reports of goldfish being eaten from garden ponds and animals breaking into attics.The city received 161 complaints in fiscal 2023, rising to 332 the following year and 397 in fiscal 2025.According to the Osaka prefectural government, raccoons have been confirmed not only in mountainous areas but also in urban districts, with their range expanding particularly in central parts of the prefecture, including Osaka city.Officials believe growing numbers of the animals have settled in residential areas in search of food. The prefecture has urged residents not to approach or feed them.Agricultural damage is also mounting.Raccoons caused 84.06 million yen worth of crop damage in Osaka Prefecture in fiscal 2024, twice the amount recorded in 2023.They accounted for more than 40 percent of all wildlife-related agricultural damage in the prefecture, more than any other species, including deer and wild boars.From fiscal 2026, Osaka Prefecture added Osaka city to its raccoon control programme, allowing eradication measures under the Invasive Alien Species Act.The agriculture ministry said changes in the environment may be helping the animals spread.“An increase in places where raccoons can breed, such as vacant houses, may have helped expand their habitat,” a ministry official said.Hokkaido is another region struggling to keep pace with the animals’ rapid expansion.The number of municipalities in the northern prefecture where raccoons had been confirmed has risen steadily since 1992, reaching about 40 per cent of the total by 2001. By the end of January 2026, they had spread to nearly the entire prefecture.Agricultural damage in Hokkaido, which had previously hovered around 40 million yen a year, exceeded 220 million yen in fiscal 2024, the highest level on record.The prefectural government has introduced control measures and training programmes for municipalities, but officials say raccoon numbers are increasing so quickly that authorities are struggling to keep up.“The population is growing rapidly, so it has become an endless battle,” a prefectural official said. “Eradicating raccoons in the wild is difficult. The challenge is how to keep their numbers under control.”Yuzuru Ishizuka, a senior researcher at the Osaka Prefecture’s Research Institute of Environment, Agriculture and Fisheries who specialises in raccoon ecology, said trapping needs to continue even when visible damage subsides.“We need to reduce their numbers if we are going to limit the damage,” Ishizuka said. “Measures such as setting traps need to continue even in autumn and winter, when crop damage tends to decline.” KYODO NEWS