Utsunomiya, Japan shuts 94 schools after urban bear sighting

A roughly one‑metre Asian black bear was sighted near a park in Utsunomiya, a city of about 500,000 located around 100 km north of Tokyo. The animal paced through the city centre, passing close to two teenagers, and eluded capture. In response, the municipal government ordered a temporary halt to classes at all 94 elementary and middle schools and deployed loudspeaker‑equipped vehicles to urge residents to lock doors and windows and to seek shelter if they encounter the bear. Police together with local hunters launched a citywide search operation.

The incident occurs amid a record‑high number of bear sightings nationwide this year—around 50,000 reports—with previous incidents reported near Tokyo and a recent case in Fukushima where a bear entered a workplace and injured staff. Utsunomiya officials are testing AI‑supported security cameras to monitor bear movements. Experts attribute the increasing urban incursions to dwindling natural food sources such as oak acorns and to demographic shifts in rural Japan that leave forests quieter, prompting bears to venture farther into populated areas.