Overview

• On Sept. 22 in Minakami, Gunma, a 77-year-old man chestnut-picking was scratched from behind by a bear and treated for light injuries.
• In the Gunma case, the bear—about one meter long—ran off and was spotted near JR Joetsu Line’s Gokan Station roughly 15 minutes later, prompting police patrols.
• Also on Sept. 22 in Okuwa, Nagano, a man in his 60s doing tree-felling work suffered head and leg injuries in a sudden attack and was airlifted to a hospital; his condition is not life-threatening.
• On Sept. 23 in Odate, Akita, an 80-year-old woman out for a walk sustained serious facial injuries, including a broken nose, in an encounter with what appeared to be a 50-centimeter cub; the animal fled.
• Authorities in the affected areas are conducting patrols and urging precautions, with Gunma noting its third injury case this fiscal year and Akita issuing a prefecture-wide bear appearance warning.