Overview
- Police on patrol spotted the same two bears in a residential persimmon tree around 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 18 after the pair stayed there for more than 13 hours the previous day.
- The prefectural rifle team reached the site shortly after 1 p.m., evacuated nearby residents, and assessed firing options as the bears, believed to be a parent and cub, remained in the branches.
- With no safe backstop near homes and an elementary school about 100 meters away, the team left at 4:35 p.m. without attempting a cull.
- Iwaizumi officials acknowledged the town lacks an established emergency hunting posture, leaving the immediate risk unresolved.
- Separately in Morioka, police reported multiple urban bear sightings, and one animal was anesthetized with a blowgun and captured at a home-center parking garage without injuries or damage.