Event: Oda, Shimane Prefecture

Shingo Takatsu (left) and Soichi Tojima check a crop surrounded by a fence in Oda, Shimane Prefecture. | CHUGOKU SHIMBUN Soichi Tojima, 74, a member of an agricultural committee in a rural Shimane Prefecture district, looks up at a large hole in the ceiling of a plastic greenhouse in frustration.“A baby monkey tore it,” Tojima says. “They jump in from above, you know.”Last fall, wild monkeys converged on Hongo — a district with 23 residents in 12 households in the city of Oda — and devoured grapes at an orchard right before harvest. The owner of the farm had forgotten to turn on an electric fence. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.By subscribing, you can help us get the story right. SUBSCRIBE NOW