Overview

• Kitakami City confirmed on July 28 that DNA from hair at the July 4 Waga Town attack matched the bear culled on July 11 in the same area.
• Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi of Iwate University’s Faculty of Agriculture conducted the genetic analysis confirming the match.
• On July 4, a bear entered the home of an 80-year-old woman in Waga Town and fatally attacked her, prompting the subsequent culling operation.
• Under new Environment Ministry guidelines, urban bear shootings are now permitted ahead of a September law amendment granting mayors authority to order emergency culls.
• Following expert warnings about August food shortages driving bears toward human settlements, authorities have maintained 24-hour patrols, installed electric fences and issued community safety briefings.