Y’got your weasel family and y’got your bear family, but where raccoons fall in the evolutionary tree is unclear: they share closer physiology with the former but genetics with the latter (note: they are not to be confused with the tanuki, or raccoon dogs; both are basal canids with no close relation to extant species). Consequently, despite their irresistible cuteness, intelligence, and adaptability, the reality is that they are ferocious omnivores who WILL get their way, always, one way or another. And they bite and scratch and carry rabies and fleas and will finish off your crops in one night, from your tubers to your fruit.
Japanese authorities thus do what they can to prevent their spread here, but their efforts are no match for the siren song of kawaii, which creates a market of would-be owners for smugglers or domestic breeders. These owners then invariably dump their pets in the countryside with utmost haste the moment their cute kits reach sexual maturity and abruptly go total Mr. Hyde.
Anyway, the Kumamoto Department of Environmental Symbiosis (seriously - I didn’t know the 環境共生課 existed either) is in a tizzy as one was recently spotted in Ueki, closer to downtown than previous sightings in Yamaga, Tamana, and Uto, raising fears that they’ll soon follow the trail of twice-weekly garbage bags into town. There’s really no way to eradicate an established raccoon population, so we’ll just have to learn to coexist. If you see one, though, stay clear and maybe notify the authorities.
Below: Cuddly raccoon kit and the same species 18 months later - William