Tag - bears

 
 

BEARS

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.
A bear warning sign. Bears have been increasingly encroaching into towns where the human population is greying and dwindling.
JAPAN
Oct 22, 2025
Japan vows tougher measures after record bear attack deaths
Bears have been increasingly encroaching into towns where the human population is greying and dwindling.
A man's body was found at around 9 a.m. on Friday near to the site where a bear was hunted in a wooded area of Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2025
Body found after possible bear attack at onsen in Iwate
Iwate Prefectural Police believe that the body is that of a 60-year-old employee of a hot spring.
A bear was shot dead in the city of Sendai under a revised law allowing city authorities to kill bears in urban areas.
JAPAN
Oct 16, 2025
Bear shot in city of Sendai under revised law
The bear appeared near a residential area in Kagitori, Taihaku Ward, in the capital city of Miyagi Prefecture,
Bear warning signs at the Akita Prefectural Government building
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2025
As temperatures drop in Japan, bear attacks shoot up to historic highs
A total of 39 people sustained injuries from bear attacks in September alone.
A bear seen in security camera footage taken at a supermarket in Numata, Gunma Prefecture, on Tuesday. More and more wild bears have been spotted in Japan in recent years, even in residential areas.
JAPAN
Oct 10, 2025
Man killed in apparent bear attack as deaths mount in Japan
The official death toll due to bear attacks has risen to six for the fiscal year starting in April, matching a record high seen in 2023.
A bear seen in security camera footage taken Tuesday inside a supermarket in Numata, Gunma Prefecture
JAPAN
Oct 8, 2025
Bear injures two in Japan supermarket; man killed in separate attack
More and more wild bears have been spotted in Japan in recent years, even in residential areas, due to factors including a declining human population and climate change.
Shirakawago, a U.N. World Heritage site in Gifu Prefecture
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2025
Spanish tourist injured in latest bear attack
The 44-year-old tourist was pounced on from behind as he was walking to a bus stop on Sunday.
A bear warning sign. More and more wild bears have been spotted in Japan in recent years, even in residential areas, due to factors including a declining human population and climate change.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2025
One dead, one missing in Japan after bear attack
More and more wild bears have been spotted in recent years due to factors including a declining human population and climate change.
What’s worse, waking up to find a bear going through your trash or getting an earful from your neighbor on garbage separation?
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Oct 3, 2025
Don’t poke the bear: Learn how to sort your garbage the right way
Bears are increasingly wandering into towns and cities looking for food. Make sure you don’t tempt them with your leftovers.
The Environment Ministry and other government agencies decided to strengthen calls for caution, as bear sightings are feared to increase this autumn.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2025
Asian black bear sightings hit record high in Japan
Bear sightings are feared to increase this autumn due to an expected poor harvest of beech nuts, a key food source.
Japan allows municipalities to authorize the shooting of wild bears in residential areas under an amended law aimed at preventing further attacks.
JAPAN
Sep 2, 2025
Shooting bears in residential areas made easier in Japan
Many bear cases have already been reported in various parts of the country so far this fiscal year.
The Environment Ministry plans to increase subsidies to local governments to fund projects such as setting up fences to prevent bears from encroaching into populated areas, as well as training personnel who can react when there are sightings.
JAPAN
Aug 22, 2025
Environment Ministry to boost support for local governments facing bear attacks
Funds will enable municipalities to secure and train staff able to respond to incidents involving bears.
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.
The Rausu mountain range at Hokkaido's Shiretoko National Park. A man in his 20s who went missing after being attacked by a bear while hiking on Mount Rausu has been found dead.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2025
Hiker missing in Hokkaido after bear attack found dead
The man, in his 20s, went missing after a brown bear attacked him while he was descending a mountain in eastern Hokkaido on Thursday.
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.
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance said Thursday that it will sell to local governments a policy to cover property damage caused by bullets fired during wild bear extermination.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2025
Japan insurer to launch policy linked to bear culling
The move comes as the revised wildlife protection and management law is set to take effect in September.
Climate change affecting food sources and hibernation times, along with depopulation caused by an aging society, are causing bears to venture into towns more frequently, scientists say.
MORE SPORTS
Jul 16, 2025
Bear stops play again at Japan golf event
The bear was spotted in the morning near the first tee at the Meiji Yasuda Ladies tournament at Sendai Classic Golf Club, a stop on the JLPGA Tour.

Longform

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