78-Year-Old Man in Japan Repels Brown Bear by Punching Its Nose

The bear was only about 5 meters away and measured 1.5 meters long

A series of bear attack incidents reported recently in Japan

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An elderly man in Hokkaido, Japan, survived a bear attack while foraging for wild vegetables by punching the bear in the nose with his bare hands.

According to reports from Fuji News Network (FNN), HBC Hokkaido Broadcasting, and others on May 18 (local time), Yasuo Kanomata, a 78-year-old resident of Shibetsu City, Hokkaido, encountered a brown bear about 1.5 meters in length while collecting wild vegetables near a forest road in Shibetsu City on the morning of May 17. It was reported that the distance between Kanomata and the bear was about 5 meters at that time.

Kanomata recalled, "The bear was not moving at all," and added, "When I shouted loudly, the bear began to approach me in a threatening manner."

Startled, he tried to run away but fell backward, and the bear climbed on top of him.

He said, "The bear opened its mouth right in front of me and tried to bite me. I kicked the bear's belly, and in the process, my fist struck the bear's nose."

The bear, seemingly startled, immediately ran back into the mountains, and Kanomata survived without serious injuries. "At the moment I was attacked, I thought it was the end for me. I thought I would die from the bear's attack," he said. "It feels like a miracle that I returned home without a single scratch." He added, "I never want to encounter a bear again."

Kanomata, who has been foraging for wild vegetables for over 40 years, explained that he usually carries a bear-repellent bell and an alarm attached to his backpack when entering the mountains, but that day, since he was near his car, he did not bring his backpack.

He said, "Bears appear even beside forest roads and sometimes even in residential areas," adding, "Perhaps the best method is to avoid going into bear habitats altogether."

Meanwhile, bear sightings have been surging recently in Japan. According to the Yomiuri Shimbun, Japan's Ministry of the Environment announced that the number of bear sightings in fiscal year 2025 reached 50,776, the highest since record-keeping began in 2009.

On May 17, in the Okutama mountain area of Tokyo, a man in his 30s with Russian nationality was also attacked by a bear and suffered serious injuries to his face and arms.

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