Four people were attacked by a bear on Monday in a residential area of Akita city. The whereabouts of the animal was currently unknown, local authorities said.
The extent of injuries suffered by the victims — men and women in their 60s, 70s and 80s — was unclear, but all four were able to hold conversations before they were rushed to the hospital following the attack occurred some time after after 9 a.m.
A fifth person, a man in his 80s, was initially reported to have been attacked but had sustained his injuries when he tripped and fell while fleeing the scene.
Akita Prefecture has seen a higher-than-usual number of bear sightings, with police saying that 30 people have been injured in attacks this year — a record.
Two other bear attacks happened on Monday: an 84-year-old man in Kanazawa and a 79-year-old woman in Toyama. Both sustained non-life-threatening injuries.