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November 23, 2025
 

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AKITA

As bear attacks spike across northern Japan, the country's community of nature enthusiasts say that while the risk might be high now, enjoying the outdoors is still possible with the proper precautions.
LIFE / Lifestyle
Nov 19, 2025
‘Be bear aware’: Japan’s outdoor pros sound off on ursine risks
Japan’s nature researchers, hunters and trail runners reflect on how a spike in bear activity affects their professions and hobbies.
Authorities have determined that a woman in her 70s found in a rice field in Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, died of hypothermia.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Nov 19, 2025
Akita woman thought to have been killed by a bear actually died of hypothermia
Authorities concluded that a smaller animal had inflicted the wounds on the body of the woman, who was in her 70s, after her death.
A bear walks in front of a box trap set up at a park in the city of Akita on Nov. 2.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 17, 2025
Bears attacks and sightings continue in northern Japan
A woman was found dead in a rice field of a suspected bear attack in Akita Prefecture on Sunday while a bear made its way into an Aeon shopping mall in the prefecture.
Bear attacks have dominated Japanese news headlines in recent months, with 13 people so far having been killed by the animals.
JAPAN / Society / Longform
Nov 9, 2025
Japan’s bears have been on their killing spree for more than 100 years
A surge in bear attacks in Japan may be nothing new, revealing a complex mix of ecology, policy and culture.
A bear seen in a residential area in the city of Akita on Oct. 30. The National Police Agency will allow riot police officers to cull wild bears with rifles amid a series of attacks on people across Japan.
JAPAN / Society
Nov 6, 2025
Japan riot police allowed to cull bears with rifles
Police are set to cull bears in Akita and Iwate, which have seen an increase in attacks on local residents, with operations scheduled to begin on Nov. 13.
Officials set up traps to capture bears in the city of Kazuno, Akita Prefecture, on Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 5, 2025
GSDF deployed to Akita Prefecture amid rise in bear attacks
Troops will assist in the setting up of traps in the prefecture, though they are not permitted to help cull the bears themselves.
Ground Self-Defense Force personnel unload a box trap during a training exercise on wildlife damage control.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2025
SDF to provide logistical aid for bear capture efforts
There have been over 8,000 reported bear sightings in the prefecture this fiscal year, and 50 people have suffered injuries, including three fatalities.
Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi speaks at a news conference at the ministry on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2025
Akita governor asks for SDF help amid 'dire' bear attacks
Bears have killed a record 10 people in Japan so far this year, a government official confirmed.
A bear spotted in Kuzumaki, Iwate Prefecture, earlier this month.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2025
Akita to seek SDF deployment over bear attacks
More than 100 people across the country have been killed or injured by bears in the current fiscal year.
Police investigate the scene of a bear attack that killed one person and injured three others on Friday in the village of Higashinaruse in Akita Prefecture.
JAPAN
Oct 25, 2025
Bear kills another person in Japan in record year for fatal attacks
Separate bear attacks in Japan killed one and injured four on Friday, officials said, days after the government vowed to toughen measures against the animals.
Wind turbines along a beach in Happo, Akita Prefecture, in September 2024
BUSINESS
Oct 17, 2025
Akita urges quick resale of offshore wind sites after Mitsubishi pulls out
The fledgling offshore wind power industry is grappling with high interest rates and material costs, as well as a pushback against green policies in some countries.
Tokyo police believe the man made about 20,000 sexually explicit images of 262 women, such as actors and idols, and amassed sales of ¥1.2 million between October last year and September this year.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Oct 16, 2025
Man held in Japan on suspicion of creating female celeb deepfakes made with AI
It is the first time for police in Japan to crack down on sexual deepfake images of celebrities created using generative artificial intelligence.
A Mitsubishi-led consortium had planned to construct offshore wind turbines with a combined output of about 1.7 million kilowatts of electricity in three areas off Akita and Chiba prefectures.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2025
Government reviews Mitsubishi-led group's exit from offshore power projects
Noting construction costs would more than double from the initial estimate, Mitsubishi and Chubu Electric announced the consortium's pullout from the projects last month.
Wind turbines in the town of Happo in Akita prefecture. Wind power is a key part of Japan's alternative energy drive.
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Aug 28, 2025
Mitsubishi’s wind-power retreat a blow to Japan's alternative-energy goals
Dramatic withdrawal by trading house from three projects comes amid similar moves globally.
Police first suspected a bear attack, but multiple stab wounds on the victim's body pointed to homicide.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Aug 20, 2025
Police suspect son, not bear, behind man's death in Akita Prefecture
The case was reclassified as a homicide, and not a bear attack, after police discovered what appeared to be knife wounds on the victim's body.
Tsukiko Ito shares her experience of the World War II air raid on Akita's Tsuchizaki district, during an interview on July 15 in the prefecture.
JAPAN
Aug 14, 2025
Akita woman recounts one of the last air raids of WWII
Tsukiko Ito, 84, was 4 years old when Akita's Tsuchizaki district was battered by around 130 bombers from the United States and its allies on the night of Aug. 14, 1945.
According to government data, bears attacked 85 people in the year ending March 2025, with three people killed.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2025
Bear attacks woman outside disabled home in Akita
More and more wild bears have been spotted in residential areas in Japan in recent years, resulting in a rising number of attacks and deaths.
Masaru Sato says the ossuary at Matsuoka Hoyoen must be preserved even after residents are gone from the sanatorium.
JAPAN / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Jul 7, 2025
Former Hansen’s disease patients shed light on history of discrimination
Although the prejudice against Hansen's disease patients brought on by past segregation policy persist, the memories of their hardships are now fading.
A wind turbine blade fell in the city of Akita on Friday.
JAPAN
May 2, 2025
Man dies after wind turbine blade falls in an Akita park
According to the police, the victim was discovered roughly 1 meter away from the fallen blade.
Three workers died Friday in Oga, Akita Prefecture, after being found unconscious at a sewage construction site inside a manhole.
JAPAN
Mar 7, 2025
Three construction workers die inside manhole in Akita Prefecture
The three — all residents of the city of Akita — had been repairing sewer pipes since early that morning, according to the prefectural government.
Japanese court orders Cloudflare to pay ¥500 million over manga piracy
Cloudflare has been ordered to pay ¥500 million after four major publishing firms accused the firm of copyright infringement for its role in hosting sites that distribute pirated copies of manga titles.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
Two men suspected of smuggling 1 ton of gold into Japan from South Korea
U.K. gold bullion bars and coins are displayed at Baird & Co. in Hatton Garden in London.
Takaichi rejects China's demand to retract Taiwan remarks
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has rejected China's demands for her to retract her comments on Taiwan, saying Tokyo's stance on a major regional security crisis remains unchanged.
Japan set to lean on U.S., allies for support if China escalates
U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi in Tokyo, on Oct. 28.
Japan plans higher visa fees for foreign residents
Along with planned higher fees for foreign residents to stay, Japan is looking to raise the ¥3,000 single-entry visa fee for inbound tourists to Western standards in the next fiscal year.
First foreign president of Hosei University looks abroad for change
Hosei University President Diana Khor, who herself was an international student, aims to encourage students to look outward and cultivate a global mindset.
Japanese companies advised to change mindset about investment in Africa
Bernard Laurendeau, chief of Enkopa Lab Japan, in Tokyo last month
Munetaka Murakami headlines quartet looking to move to MLB via posting system
The Swallows' Munetaka Murakami has 246 career home runs in eight NPB seasons.
The reality of human trafficking in Japan
A view of Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward at night. Last year in Japan, 66 people were put in protective custody as victims of human trafficking. Among them, 58 — including all 41 minors — were Japanese nationals. International pressure to act on human trafficking led Japan to make efforts to crack down on the crime, such as a tightening of conditions in 2005 for entertainer visas.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Juzo Itami’s “Tampopo” was released Nov. 23, 1985, and though it wasn’t a hit at the time, it has gained a cult following in the years since.
Eat, slurp, love: 'Tampopo' turns 40
By Weiwen Lin

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