National Nov 24, 2020
Wild bear attacks in Japan reach highest number in five years
by Erica Yokoyama
The pandemic has been cited as a reason for the creatures becoming bolder and getting closer to human settlements.
National Nov 16, 2020
Hokkaido city calls in ‘Monster Wolf' to scare off wild bears
by Elaine Yu and Hisako Ueno
A mechanical wolf with fake fur, bared fangs and flashing red eyes is keeping residents and crops safe in the face of increasing encounters with bears.
National | Regional Voices: Tohoku Oct 30, 2020
Due to depopulation and changing lifestyles, residents no longer take proper care of mountains, which some believe is causing bears to roam further.
National Oct 26, 2020
Bears spotted 13,670 times in Japan — most in six-month period since 2016
Bears were spotted 13,670 times in the wild across Japan between April and September, the most for the six-month period since 2016, the Environment Ministry said Monday. The tally was released following a recent spate of bear encounters by residents in Japan. Two women died ...
National Oct 12, 2020
Niigata Prefecture raises bear alert after woman dies from attack
The prefecture has received more than 700 reports — a record number — from locals who have spotted the animals or traces of their presence this summer, officials said.
National May 23, 2020
Shiretoko Peninsula's plastic waste said luring Hokkaido bears closer to humans
Plastic bags, bottles and other waste are becoming a serious problem for the bears on Hokkaido's Shiretoko Peninsula, and conservationists warn they could begin approaching humans if they acquire a taste for garbage. The Shiretoko Peninsula is a World Heritage Site and has one of ...
World / Science & Health Aug 16, 2019
Genetic study implicates humans in demise of prehistoric cave bear 20,000 years ago
Genetic research that reconstructed the past population dynamics of the cave bear, a prominent prehistoric denizen of Europe, implicates Homo sapiens rather than climate cooling in the Ice Age extinction of these brawny plant-loving beasts. Scientists said on Thursday they obtained genome data from 59 ...
National Aug 14, 2019
Brown bear shot and killed in Sapporo after roaming around residential area
Residents were frightened of the bear, which seemed accustomed to humans and was unafraid of patrol sirens. It was often spotted wandering into gardens and eating fruit.
National / Science & Health Sep 4, 2018
Having taken a dip, bears spotted in places in Japan they've not been seen for years
Rumiko Hamaya, 52, of Nemuro, the easternmost city in Hokkaido, was surprised to see a brown bear swimming in nearby Lake Furen in mid-August. “It might have been swimming for about 15 minutes, dog paddling for about 800 meters,” Hamaya said. One of her colleagues ...
National / Media | MEDIA MIX Aug 18, 2018
Japan's bears are widely vilified and little understood
by Philip Brasor
On Aug. 6, the BBC aired a story about four Ussuri brown bears being successfully transported from a museum in Hokkaido to a wildlife park in England. In the story, a British organization called Wild Welfare said it had become "concerned" about the animals' ...
National Jun 5, 2018
Hoping to promote coexistence, a resort town in a mountainous area of Nagano Prefecture is using a rare breed of dog to chase bears away from areas where people live. Karuizawa had been struggling since 2000 with bears entering the town to scavenge for food, ...
National Nov 27, 2017
As Akita deals with surge in bear sightings, some point to a human cause
by Oeystein Sollesnes
Far from Tokyo's bright lights and noisy streets Kaori Kawashima walks cautiously on her way to the nearest convenience store in rural Akita Prefecture, where danger might be lurking in the shadows. "I don't think bears come close to where I live, but there's no ...