Overview

• A 1.4-meter bear crossed a parking lot and entered a supermarket in Numata, Gunma, around 7:30 p.m., lightly injuring two men ages 69 and 76, according to local police.
• Roughly 40 customers were inside as the animal roamed the aisles, became agitated, knocked over goods, then left after several minutes, store officials said.
• Police in Iwate are investigating a body found on a mountain in a suspected bear attack, NHK reported, with the cause under review.
• Two recent fatalities brought Japan’s 2025 bear-related deaths to seven, the highest annual toll since record-keeping began in 2006, and the Environment Ministry counted 108 injuries, including five deaths, from April to September.
• Recent reports also include a farmer scratched and bitten in Iwate with a cub present, a farmer in Akita attacked, and a Spanish tourist wounded at a bus stop in Shirakawa-go.