Overview

• A 40-year-old Spanish tourist was attacked by a bear on Sunday morning in Shirakawa Village, Gifu Prefecture, sustaining an arm injury as police and the village imposed nearby road restrictions and began patrols.
• A resident in Esashi, Hokkaido, reported a brown bear in a home garden late Saturday night, and police said it moved into brush leading toward the town center.
• Security footage at Zenpō-ji temple in Hakodate captured two bears on Sunday, and about 30 bunches of grapes in a nearby garden were found eaten as a resident alerted police.
• Across affected areas, responses include 110 emergency calls, stepped-up patrols and localized access controls, with incidents frequently occurring from evening through morning hours.
• Separately, Shiriuchi Town announced that a 47-year-old department head arrested in late September on suspicion of attempted illicit filming will be reassigned to a subsection-chief post on October 6, with further disciplinary action under review.