The Hyogo Park of the Oriental White Stork in the western Japan city of Toyooka, Hyogo Prefecture, said Monday it has confirmed that one white stork newly made its departure from its nest in the city.

White storks, which folklore says brings babies to couples, have been confirmed in the wild in 46 prefectures in Japan so far, or all except Akita.

"We hope that white storks, which are said to bring happiness, will spread across Japan and deliver happiness to many people," park Director Satoshi Yamagishi said.

Feral white storks became extinct in Japan in 1971, following a drop in their population due mainly to postwar overhunting.

In Hyogo Prefecture, an artificial breeding program started with a pair of wild white storks given from Russia in 1985. In 2005, the first release of the white storks into the wild began.

Since then, outdoor nests and feeding sites have been established to encourage white storks to settle outside Hyogo as well.

It has been confirmed that white storks left their nests in cities such as Naruto, Tokushima Prefecture, western Japan, and Noda, Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo.

For the successful breeding of white storks, a rich natural environment is vital as freshwater fish and other living beings are needed as feeds.

"We hope more white storks will be released into the wild across Japan on the back of enhanced public understanding of their ecology," a park official said. (Jiji Press)