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This report reviews the status of Japanese black bear (Selenarctos thibetanus japonicus), and proposes a conservation plan for this species. Ten thousand black bears are estimated to live in Japan as estimated by distribution of data and density estimates of 0.11-0.18 bears/km2. Annual harvest is more than 2,000. More than 1,000 bears are killed as pests on plantations for depredations on agricultural products and other bear-human conflicts throughout the active bear season. The government does not manage black bears on the biological basis of hunting seasons, numbers, sex, or age at harvest. High commercial value of gallbladder threatens Japanese bears as in other Asian countries. Bear habitat was diminished by timber cutting for resources during the World War II period. (The rapid economic growth of Japan has been inadvertently consuming bear habitat all over the world.) For the conservation of bears, social education is necessary along with proper management of hunting and habitat on a biological basis.