Societal Factors Influencing Hunting Participation Decline in Japan: An Exploratory Study of Two Prefectures

Abstract

This paper responds to calls for greater focus on societal (macro) and community (meso) levels of influence on hunter recruitment and retention. Based upon interviews and focus groups undertaken in two prefectures in Japan, this exploratory study identifies a range of factors that may contribute to Japan’s declining hunting participation. While some of these align with those identified elsewhere (e.g. demographic trends of aging and rural depopulation), the study reveals other barriers that are deeply rooted in Japan’s historic and contemporary socio-cultural practices. These include gun control, the consumption of game meat, and territorial hunting practices. Much of our knowledge about hunter recruitment and retention is based on research undertaken in Western contexts. These findings illustrate the need for a broader geographical scope in this research, and the importance of historic context in order to gain a holistic understanding of hunting and its connection with society and related ecologies.