Bear sightings are surging across Japan, causing casualties and safety incidents in both rural and urban areas. A malfunctioning bear repellent spray has further heightened risks in everyday spaces.
According to the Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday (local time), a 48-year-old farmer was attacked by a bear roughly one meter in size at a rice paddy in Yurihonjo, Akita Prefecture, at around 8 a.m. the previous day. The man suffered serious injuries to his face and arms and was airlifted to a hospital in Akita City for emergency surgery. Local police said it was the first case of human injury caused by a bear in Akita Prefecture this year. The victim was reportedly inspecting his rice paddy when the attack occurred.
On the same day, a bear was spotted at an urban park in Hachinohe, Aomori Prefecture, triggering a state of alert. With commercial facilities densely located nearby, authorities determined that the requirements for emergency firearm use had been met and captured the bear using guns. Starting this year, Japan has introduced and is operating an "emergency firearm use" system that allows firearms to be used in urban areas based on the judgment of city, town, and village heads.
Earlier, at around 6 p.m. on Wednesday, a bear repellent spray malfunctioned on a platform at JR Tadotsu Station in Kagawa Prefecture, causing a commotion. The spray, kept in the side pocket of a man's backpack, suddenly discharged, and eight nearby passengers complained of pain in their eyes and lips, receiving on-site treatment. The incident delayed trains for 34 minutes.
Statistics confirm the severity of bear sightings in Japan. According to the Ministry of the Environment, human casualties caused by bears have soared to record highs in fiscal 2025 (April 2025 to March 2026). Fatalities have reached double digits, while the number of injured has far exceeded 100. Damage has been concentrated in the Tohoku region, while sighting reports continue across Hokkaido and northern Honshu.
Experts attribute the trend to a decline in food resources such as acorns in forests, combined with an increase in sparsely populated rural villages due to depopulation, which has raised the frequency of overlap between bears' ranges and human living areas. The Japanese government has activated a wide-area response system that includes dispatching Self-Defense Forces, while local governments are expanding capture personnel and improving sighting alert systems.
