Tag - bears

 
 

BEARS

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.
Soldier Field in Chicago prior to a game between the Bears and Seahawks
MORE SPORTS
Sep 10, 2025
Bears to leave Chicago for new stadium in the suburbs
Chief Executive Officer Kevin Warren told fans on Monday — just hours before the Bears’ season opener — that the NFL team plans to build a stadium in Arlington Heights.
Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy rushes the ball against the Bears during the second half at Soldier Field in Chicago on Monday.
MORE SPORTS / Football
Sep 9, 2025
McCarthy sparks late rally as Vikings edge Bears in NFL opener
After throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give Chicago a 17-6 lead, McCarthy ignited a Minnesota fightback with three fourth-quarter TDs.
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.
A polar bear at Ueno Zoo in Tokyo on Thursday. The Arctic animals are among the most vulnerable species to Japan's scorching summer heat and zookeepers have to take a number of precautions in order to keep them safe.
ENVIRONMENT / Wildlife / OUR PLANET
Aug 31, 2025
How Tokyo's Ueno Zoo helps their animals cope with extreme heat
From limiting their time outdoors to serving frozen food, the staff at Ueno Zoo take a number of measures to help the animals cope with the heat.
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.
Following a string of bear attacks that led to human injuries, the Environment Ministry has announced guidelines that list conditions and procedures for allowing the shooting of bears and other wild animals in urban areas.
JAPAN / Society
Jul 8, 2025
Japan releases guidelines on shooting of bears in urban areas
The move follows a string of bear attacks that led to human injuries.
Human encounters with bears have reached record levels in Japan, with 219 people attacked and six deaths in the 12 months to April 2024.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2025
Bear roaming runway halts flights at Japanese airport
The black bear appeared at northern Japan's Yamagata Airport early morning, immediately prompting the closure of its runway.
French scientist Marie-Anne Blanchet examines bear cubs before taking tissue biopsies and blood samples from their sedated mother, in eastern Spitzbergen, in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, on April 6.
ENVIRONMENT
May 19, 2025
Polar bear biopsies shed light on Arctic pollutants
The team's findings may help explain how the bears' world is changing, and at an alarming rate.
With more wild bears entering human areas across Japan in recent years, the revised law is aimed at making it possible to deal with them promptly and prevent casualties.
JAPAN / Crime & Legal
Apr 18, 2025
Japan enacts bill allowing urban bears to be shot
The law designates animals with a high risk of harming people as "dangerous wildlife animals" that can be shot.
The whereabouts of a bear that attacked three people in Nagano Prefecture on Wednesday were still unknown the following day.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2025
Authorities on alert after three injured in Nagano bear attack
Two men are believed to have sustained serious injuries, but all three victims remain conscious. The whereabouts of the bear remain unknown.

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