Aomori woman, 80, killed by bear amid surge of attacks nationwide

An 80-year-old woman in Aomori Prefecture died on Tuesday after being attacked by a bear while foraging for bamboo shoots in the mountains.

She was discovered unconscious on Mount Hakkoda in the city of Aomori around 8:45 a.m. by a fellow forager, prompting a rescue effort by police and local hunters.

The woman was pronounced dead at around 3 p.m after being transported to a hospital in the city. Local officials indicated the attack by an adult Asian black bear measuring approximately 1.5 meters likely occurred around 8:30 a.m.

The two foragers had entered the mountains at around 6 a.m. with a plan to forage independently and regroup later. Upon returning to their agreed meeting spot, the foraging partner found her on the ground, unconscious.

The incident marks the first fatal bear attack this year in Aomori Prefecture, where earlier incidents on Friday and Saturday had resulted in injuries and stolen food, prompting a warning of bear sightings to be issued across the region.

This week has seen multiple bear-related incidents nationwide.

On Monday, a bear sighting at a school in the city of Nikko, Tochigi Prefecture, necessitated a temporary lockdown. The sighting of the bear, approximately 1 meter in length, forced approximately 30 students and staff to retreat indoors, local newspaper Shimotsuke Shimbun reported.

On Tuesday, NHK reported that a man in his 70s from the city of Ogaki, Gifu Prefecture, suffered severe injuries to his face and head after a bear attacked him while he was fishing alone on a riverbank in the town of Ibigawa, Gifu Prefecture.

This incident was the second bear attack in Gifu Prefecture within a month, following an earlier one in which a woman in her 80s sustained serious injuries after being attacked in a field in the city of Gero.

On Friday, a 58-year-old man was found dead in the mountains in the town of Shinano in Nagano Prefecture. Police believe he had been attacked by a bear, as he had deep scratches on his face and back.

In May, an elderly couple in Gunma Prefecture were injured after a bear entered their home in the middle of the night when they were sleeping.

The Environment Ministry reported that there were 219 victims of bear attacks in fiscal 2023, which resulted in six deaths.

In April and May this year, 15 people were attacked. The number of victims tends to increase into summer and particularly fall as bears become more active.