Overview

• Tsuruoka City in Yamagata authorized an emergency shooting for a bear seen at a home on Sept. 20, which the Environment Ministry says is the first such municipal decision nationwide.
• In the Tsuruoka case, police ultimately ordered local hunters to fire under the Police Duties Execution Law because perimeter safety checks were incomplete, and no one was injured.
• Police in Morioka, Iwate, reported a roughly 1‑meter bear that rammed a shop entrance near JR Morioka Station and was later seen on a riverside, with no injuries confirmed.
• Authorities in Morioka are searching for the animal, issuing alerts to nearby schools and residents, and have requested a response from the local hunting association.
• Separately on Sept. 26, Niigata Prefectural Police said a man in his 90s was attacked by a bear in Myoko and hospitalized with facial and thigh injuries.