The number of people killed by bears in Japan this year has reached a record high, the country's environment ministry has reported.
Seven people have died since April—the highest since 2006 when data collection began—with most fatalities occurring in the northeastern regions and the northern prefecture of Hokkaido.
In a recent alarming incident, a 60-year-old man who was cleaning an outdoor hot spring bath has gone missing, believed to be another victim of bear aggression.
Bear attacks typically escalate in the autumn months before the animals hibernate. Experts suggest that a decrease in beech nut yields, attributed to climate change, may be forcing these hungry bears into urban areas. Additionally, local depopulation is affecting the bear-human dynamic.
The environmental ministry's figures confirm that the seven fatalities this year have surpassed the five recorded for the year leading up to April 2024.
Moreover, around 100 injuries caused by bear encounters have already been reported this year, an increase from 85 injuries and only three fatalities documented in the previous 12 months.
Recent investigations revealed human blood and bear fur at the site of a suspected attack in the city of Kitakami, Iwate prefecture. This follows the confirmation that a man found dead last week in Iwate was killed by a bear.
In another incident earlier this month, a modest-sized bear, approximately 1.4m tall, entered a supermarket in Numata, Gunma, injuring two elderly men and causing a significant panic among shoppers.
Bear sightings in residential areas, once rare, are becoming more frequent, with reports indicating that a farmer was attacked outside his home in Iwate by a bear with a cub. A Spanish tourist was also attacked at a bus stop in the picturesque village of Shirakawa-go.
Japan is home to two species of bears: the Asian black bear and the larger brown bear primarily found in Hokkaido.
