Japan faced another deadly bear attack on Friday, killing one person and injuring four others, as officials struggle to contain a record rise in fatal wildlife encounters this year. Before Friday’s incident, nine people had already been killed by bears in 2025, marking the highest number ever recorded in the country’s history and surpassing the previous record of six deaths in 2024.
In Akita, a mountainous region in northern Japan, police received reports of a bear mauling involving four individuals. One person tragically died at the scene, while three others were rushed to a nearby hospital for treatment. Local reports said two victims were working on a farm when the bear attacked, while the others were injured while trying to rescue them. Authorities later confirmed that a hunter shot and killed a bear near the site, and investigations are underway to confirm if it was the same animal.
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Meanwhile, in a separate incident in Toyama, a woman in her 70s was attacked and injured by a bear, adding to growing public fear. These attacks come just days after Japan’s environment minister vowed to implement stricter measures to control the bear population. The minister called the increasing attacks “a serious problem” and promised to expand hunter training and improve population management strategies.
Experts say bears are entering towns more frequently due to a mix of climate change and Japan’s declining rural population, which leaves farmlands and forests unattended. Bears have been spotted near schools, stores, and tourist areas, creating safety concerns among residents. The changing environment has also affected food sources in the wild, forcing bears to move closer to human settlements in search of food.
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Japan is home to two main bear species — the Asian black bear, commonly known as the moon bear, and the larger brown bear found mainly in Hokkaido. Thousands of bears are culled annually to prevent attacks, but the country’s shrinking and aging hunter population has made wildlife control increasingly difficult. Authorities now face mounting pressure to find a long-term solution before more lives are lost.