"Police Also Attacked"... Bear Incidents and Fear Spread Across Japan as Hibernation Ends

Bears Attack Even Search Officers,
Sightings Reported in Urban Areas

Bear Bells Distributed Amid Record 50,000 Sightings

As bears have fully awakened from hibernation, bear-related incidents and public anxiety are growing across Japan. The alert level has risen even further after a police officer searching for a missing person was attacked by a bear.

Image to help understand the article. Not directly related to the article. Pixabay

According to Kyodo News and NHK on April 21, around 9:50 a.m. that day, a male police officer in his 50s searching for a missing resident in the mountains of Shiwa Town, Shiwa District, Iwate Prefecture, was bitten on the face and arm by a bear. The officer was reportedly conscious when transported to the hospital.

A body was also discovered near the scene of the incident, and police are investigating whether it is connected to a bear attack. Authorities deployed bear hunters and shot and killed a fully grown bear in the area.

Recently in Japan, sightings of bears have increasingly been reported not only in rural areas but also in residential neighborhoods and city centers. On April 19, a bear that appeared in a residential area of Sendai City, Miyagi Prefecture, was captured using a tranquilizer gun. The number of bear sightings in the region has risen significantly compared to previous years, leading to the issuance of "bear warning alerts."

Earlier, on April 9, a bear found in the bushes near a highway in Koriyama City, Fukushima Prefecture, was shot and killed in an "emergency firearm operation" for public safety, illustrating that authorities are responding even in urban-adjacent areas.

Since last year, "bear repellent bells" have been distributed to elementary and middle school students in bear-inhabited areas in Japan. Hadano Municipal Higashi Elementary School

With bear encounters surging, local governments are stepping up their countermeasures. In Fukushima Town, Hokkaido, authorities reinstated electric fences for about 5 kilometers along the border between the town and the mountains. Last July in this area, a newspaper deliveryman was killed in a bear attack.

Measures to protect children are also expanding. Tomiya City, Miyagi Prefecture, distributed "bear deterrent bells" to about 5,000 elementary and middle school students in the area. Students were taught how to make noise by attaching the bells to their bags and received training during the distribution ceremony on how to shake their bodies to ring the bells.

According to Japan’s Ministry of the Environment, the number of bear sightings nationwide for fiscal year 2025 (April 2025 to March 2026) reached approximately 50,000 cases as of the end of February, marking the highest level since records began. The number of bears captured has also surpassed 14,000. Unusually, bear sightings have continued even during the typical hibernation period from December to March. As bears’ ranges expand, local governments across Japan are issuing more warning alerts and strengthening public safety guidance for residents.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.