[REVISION HISTORY]

Persistent bear activity and encounters in Japan

Updated 12 times since CLSTR started tracking revisions of this situation.

What changed

2026-09-03 13:28 UTC → 2026-09-05 04:56 UTC · added ~~removed~~

Throughout mid-2026, Japan experienced frequent bear encounters, crop damage, and human injuries across several prefectures. In early July, a hunting accident in Nagano resulted in an 81-year-old man being shot in the shoulder while attempting to remove a bear. Concurrently, Hokkaido reported significant soybean field damage in Mori-cho. By late July, sightings increased in Ishikawa and Akita. In Ishikawa, a photographer encountered a 1.5-meter brown bear near Kigo Mountain, contributing to over 160 sightings in the prefecture that year. In Akita, sightings occurred in both Kazuno City rice fields and residential districts of Akita City, prompting police patrols. In Yamanashi, a young bear crossing a road near Fujiyoshida on 27 July necessitated disaster-prevention radio alerts and fireworks. On 30 July, another bear was seen crossing a city road in Fujiyoshida, prompting further warnings. In early August, Fukushima Prefecture saw a surge of sightings across the Aizu, central corridor, and Hamadori areas. On 3 August, a bear scratched a person's face in Aizumisato. In Sapporo, police increased patrols in Kiyota Ward after a driver reported seeing a large, black, rounded animal on 8 August. In Niigata, an 80-centimeter bear was spotted in Joetsu City on 12 August. In Sendai, a man in his 60s sustained facial injuries during an attack in Aoba Ward on 13 August. On 16 August, vehicle collisions were reported in Akita on the Nihonkai Tohoku Expressway and in Kitami, Hokkaido, where a collision with a 1.5-meter bear led to the temporary emergency closure of a nearby amusement park. On By 23 August, a foreign tourist in his thirties was bitten on the arm by a bear near ~~a lookout point at~~ Lake Towada in Aomori Prefecture. By In early September, sightings of Asiatic black bears continued to rise.

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