Japan's wolf: Almost forgotten, but not gone?

A howl recorded in Japan has renewed interest in the Japanese wolf, believed exticnt as early as 1905.  Some researchers have never lost hope.  There is no recording of its howl, although it was universally reported to be amazingly loud for an animal that was less that 40 cm at the shoulder: indeed,the animal was known as "the Howling God." (One might say the country famous for the subcompact car also produced the subcompact wolf.)
Now a howl identified byexperts as slightly higher-pitched than that of a timber wolf and matching  no other animal known in Japan has enthusiasts excited again.  A television documentary featuring that sound and modern sightings, which include some photographs, is in work in Japan.  
Are there nights when, on Japan's loneliest mountaintops, the Howling God still speaks?