Go to a U.S. or Canadian national park and watch the visitors who go out and try to take photos next to an elk or Buffalo in the wild. A disproportionate number of those nitwits are Asian tourists.
There are many variables. With many independent variables, it is difficult to know exactly what is causing what.
However, we know both the USA and Japan started protecting the bears much more.
The bear populations grew significantly in both countries.
Fatal attacks by bears on people grew significantly in both countries.
“It’s not just that Japanese people are unarmed. They also tend to be clueless when it comes to interacting with wildlife.”
A lot of it comes from respect by the bears. They have learned that people shoot guns and are a threat so they will retreat many times if confronted. And even Chuck Norris knows a roundhouse kick is not real effective against a 600 pound black bear.
wy69
Add moose to the list!
In the 80’s in YNP a French photographer gave his camera to another tourist to ‘take a photo of him next to a moose.’
The photo was of the moose removing the French photographers head and tossing it 30 feet or so.
A man was attacked by a moose a few summers ago not too far from my home — he was walking over to his dog when a moose trampled him causing him to need over 150 stitches (all to his face and scalp).