Overview
- Authorities report 108 casualties from bear attacks between April and September and seven deaths so far this year, with more than half of incidents occurring in populated areas.
- In Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture, four men were injured near JR Yuzawa Station in early-morning attacks, and the bear later broke into a house where it remained into Tuesday.
- Police maintained round-the-clock patrols as the city set a honey-and-rice-bran box trap that showed no sign of drawing the animal, and schools limited outdoor activities and asked parents to escort children.
- September’s legal change allows local governments to authorize emergency hunting with guns in residential areas, expanding options that were previously restricted.
- Recent cases also include an elderly woman clawed in Toyama, a multi-vehicle crash after a truck struck a bear in Miyagi, and a supermarket intrusion with attacks in Gunma on October 7.