Students on school trips and foreign visitors flock there to feed hundreds of wild deer a snack called “shika senbei” (deer rice crackers ... according to the Japan Tourism Agency.

One such place is Nara, a city in central Japan. Within minutes ... Considered sacred, the deer are not only protected, but hand-fed specially-made deer crackers. Nara deer have a reputation ...

Lekh Raj Juneja is not your average rice cracker company CEO. Born in India, he came to Japan to study fermentation science and ended up leading a Japanese pharmaceutical firm. Last year he was ...

it also encourages them to feed the animals with "deer crackers," a healthy snack specifically designed for them. "We didn't want to give the impression that people should avoid Nara Park ...

As peckish deer chase delighted tourists in Japan's temple-dotted Nara Park ... Tourists are only allowed to feed the deer special rice crackers sold in Nara, but the animals are increasingly ...

Wild deer populations are rocketing in rural parts of Japan, and that's a source of ... which makes it more palatable to Japanese consumers. It also allows him to butcher deer on demand.