The ancient city of Nara is a major draw for the country's record influx of visitors -- but like in nearby Kyoto, where photo-hungry crowds have been accused of pestering the famous geisha, there have been unwelcome consequences.
Tourists are only allowed to feed the deer special rice crackers sold in Nara, but the animals are increasingly eating rubbish by accident.
"More and more people are tossing away their leftovers or snack packaging in the park," Nobuyuki Yamazaki of the Nara Deer Preservation Foundation told AFP.
"Plastic items can accumulate in deer stomachs over a long period, leading to their death through weakness," he warned.
Some activists have even retrieved chunks of plastic waste from Nara deer carcasses.
Armed with gloves, tongs and dustpans, the park's litter-picking squad -- called Beautiful Deer -- are fighting back.
The team, which mostly employs people with disabilities, has been collaborating with Yamazaki's foundation for several years.
Around half a dozen Beautiful Deer staff patrol the park in bright green jackets, unfazed by the excited squeals of holidaymakers surrounded by their hooved friends.
For many members, "the idea they're contributing to society is at the core of their motivation", said the squad's supervisor Masahito Kawanishi.
- No bins -
Around 1,300 wild deer roam the vast park, which has been their home since the eighth century, as the legend goes, acting as divine envoys for a Shinto shrine.
Drawn partly by the weak yen, 36.8 million foreign visitors came to Japan last year, a new record that the government wants to almost double to 60 million annually by 2030.
But residents and authorities in tourist hotspots, from tradition-steeped Kyoto to towns near the majestic Mount Fuji, are increasingly voicing frustration about overcrowding, traffic violations and bad behaviour by some visitors.
Nara Park is no exception -- especially when it comes to litter.
The park has no public bins -- a policy introduced about four decades ago to stop deer scavenging in them for food.
Visitors are instead encouraged to take their trash home -- an ingrained habit in Japan that is not always shared by people from abroad, Yamazaki said.
"It's perhaps difficult to expect the park to remain empty of trash cans forever," he said.
With cultural differences in mind, Nara authorities are trialling high-tech, solar-powered bins near the park in a 20-million-yen ($129,000) project.
The bins can automatically compress trash and bear the slogan: "Save the Nara deer from plastic waste".
Public bins are scarce across Japan, with one theory being that the deadly 1995 subway sarin gas attacks by a doomsday cult caused them to be removed.
Gawel Golecki, a 40-year-old from Poland who regularly visits Japan, told AFP he now keeps his trash with him.
"It's kind of strange for us," he told AFP. "(In Europe) there is always a place to throw" it.
French tourist Arnaud Bielecki, 56, said it's "a shame that the deer eat plastic dropped by visitors", adding that the Beautiful Deer squad should be supported.
"I'm glad there's a programme like this," he said.
Singapore seniors hoof it to horse therapy
Singapore (AFP) Feb 11, 2025 -
Singapore on Tuesday started an initiative to expand its senior care programme using horse therapy as the wealthy city-state grapples with the challenges of a rapidly ageing population.
"Haydays with Horses" is a two-year programme to tap into the therapeutic power of miniature horses to help seniors improve their physical health, cognitive functions and psychological well-being.
The Southeast Asian nation has one of the region's most rapidly ageing populations and officials have warned that the "silver tsunami" is a key long-term threat.
Some organisations in Singapore have already introduced ballet lessons for seniors and silent disco sessions for those in elder care.
Now, for the first time, hooved, four-legged friends are joining the mix.
Pensioners are able to interact with miniature horses in "active-ageing" centres across the city, grooming the equids, combing their manes or just stroking the animals.
The sessions are backed by the philanthropic arm of Singapore's state investment fund, Temasek, and free for participants.
Seniors are also able to pet and walk retired race or polo horses, retrained for equine therapy.
Under the scheme, experts will study the impacts of the therapy on seniors and draw up potential guidelines for policy-making.
One medical expert involved in the research said most studies on equine therapy were usually done in the West.
"We have not come across many studies which have been done in Asia," Mythily Subramaniam, assistant chairperson of the Institute of Mental Health's medical board for research, told AFP.
She said if research results proved effective, it could open the door for new and innovative methods for elder care, including robots to help cope with Singapore's growing ranks of seniors.
More than a decade ago, one tenth of the population was 65 and above.
Authorities say by 2030, a quarter of the nation will be over 65, creating challenges in national health care and other sectors.
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