Overview

• The 40-year-old was taking photos near a bus stop around 8:30 a.m. when a roughly one-meter cub emerged from brush and scratched his right arm.
• The village closed walkways to the observatory and established an emergency task force, with searches and patrols continuing and no capture reported.
• Authorities reported finding tracks believed to be from the cub near the popular area of traditional gassho-zukuri thatched-roof houses.
• Police and licensed hunters are patrolling, and officials urged residents and visitors to avoid isolated or forested areas during times when bears are more active.
• Government data record 219 bear-attack casualties in the year to March 2024 and 3,032 sightings in April–May, prompting advisories and eased rules for shooting bears in residential areas.