I remember about fifteen years ago, it was on the news here in Japan that some Australian Redback Spiders were seen in Western Japan. And that someone got bitten by one.
They assume that the spiders hitched a ride to Japan onboard a cargo ship from Australia.
It was big news in Japan at the time because the Australian Redback Spider is a very poisonous spider in the Black Widow family…and before that Japan had no poisonous spiders.
Australian Redback Spider
In Japan, there are hornets, centipedes, and a few poisonous snakes…but until this spider arrived in the mid-’90s, there were no poisonous spiders here.
But after that initial news story, I had forgotten about that spider because there was no more mention of it on the news…and also it was seen on the other side of the country.
But the Australian Redback Spider is back in the news here in Japan again.
It seems that the population of this spider has greatly expanded in Japan.
The news said that this spider has been seen in other parts of Japan now too.
I guess the Australian Redback Spider has become a permanent resident in Japan.
It’s a dangerous spider but there is an anti-venom for it’s bite so there hasn’t been a single case of a person dieing from this spider’s bite in decades.
It’s unfortunate that the Australian Redback Spider has come to Japan…but at least the highly venomous (and creepy) Australian Funnel-web Spider isn’t here!
The "Australian Funnelweb Spider" has large fangs and a deadly venom
Tokyo Five 
Cargo ships are the worst thing that ever happened to the world. 😀 So many problems have arisen because of them!
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Maybe you have a point. I’ve heard that cargo ships from China brought the “Black Plague” to Europe long ago.
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I think in the age of globalization, such things as animals being indigenous to one place is slowly disappearing.
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Well the reason you can’t bring plants or animals from one country to another without a special license is because they might have no predators in the other country and therefore wreak havoc on the environment.
For example, Europeans brought rabbits to Australia generations ago. But there are no animals in Australia that eat rabbit…and therefore the rabbit population exploded there.
All the rabbits in Australia terrorize the farms.
That’s why Australia has miles of “rabbit-fencing”.
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of all the animals in the world, i HATE SPIDERS THE MOST!
And snakes are almost as bad, too.
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I think spiders are fascinating to watch. And the small harmless ones that are native to Japan are cute.
But snakes…no thanks.
Are there many spiders and/or snakes in Hawaii?
There aren’t many snakes in the Tokyo area…but there are alot in Okinawa, Japan.
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In Hawaii, there are spiders, only one in my house so far.
But no snakes!
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No snakes in Hawaii at all?
I grew up in Florida. Besides alligators, there are Rattlesnakes, Water Moccasins, Black Racers, and other kinds of snakes there!
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