Japan has confirmed the first fatality caused by a bear attack in 2026, while police are urgently investigating two more deaths that may also be linked to bear assaults. There are growing concerns over bears invading residential communities.
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment revealed that the first fatality was a 55-year-old woman in Iwate Prefecture, located in the northern part of the country. She died on 21 April.
Meanwhile, police are examining two additional deaths. One involves Kumagai Shiyoko, age 69, who disappeared while foraging for wild plants in the mountains of Iwate Prefecture. Her body was later found with injuries to her face and head consistent with an animal claw attack in Iwate on Thursday. The other case was discovered in the forests of Yamagata Prefecture on the previous Tuesday. Local authorities are preparing to deploy hunters to patrol and monitor bear activity in these areas.
Japan is facing a rising problem of bear attacks on people. In the most recent fiscal year, 216 people were injured by bears, a significant increase from 82 injuries and three deaths the year before.
Last year alone, Japan recorded a historic high of 13 fatalities caused by bear attacks.
Scientists say this crisis stems from a rapid increase in the bear population combined with a declining rural human population, leading to greater overlap between forest habitats and residential areas.
Additionally, the production of acorns, the bears’ primary food source, dropped last year. This shortage has pushed many bears out of the forests in search of food near communities.
The Japanese government has deployed military and riot police units to assist in capturing and controlling bears, with thousands of bears culled annually.
Currently, brown bears are found only on Hokkaido Island, where their population has more than doubled over the past 30 years to over 11,500 animals. Japanese black bears inhabit various regions, including Honshu Island, covering Iwate and Yamagata Prefectures.
In 2024, the Japanese government added bears to the list of species subject to population control, marking a major policy shift after previously protecting them, which contributed to the population surge.
.Source:channelnewsasia
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