Nearly 100 schools had to shut down due to a bear roaming the urban streets and managing to avoid capture in Utsunomiya, a city located approximately 60 miles north of Tokyo. Authorities advised children to stay home following multiple brown bear sightings over the weekend.
The bear, measuring about one meter in length, was initially seen near a park on Saturday and was later caught on CCTV crossing paths with two surprised young men in the city center on Sunday. It reappeared in residential neighborhoods and then in an industrial area about a mile and a half away from downtown early this morning.
This marks the first instance of a bear sighting in the city, prompting a search effort involving police officers and a local hunting team. Residents were instructed to take refuge indoors if the bear is spotted, secure doors and windows, and avoid putting out trash at night to prevent attracting the animal.
Authorities used vehicles equipped with loudspeakers to warn residents, suspecting the bear might be concealed in bushes and could emerge again after dark. As a precaution, all 94 primary and junior high schools in the region closed, impacting around 36,000 students. Additionally, eight high schools with 3,700 students advised parents to keep their children at home following a recent bear-related incident that injured four individuals.
In a separate event, police and firefighters hurried to the Sasakino district of Fukushima, northeastern Japan, after a bear entered a steel factory and assaulted two workers before fleeing through a window.
Reports indicate the bear approached a man in his 20s at the factory gates, causing him to fall to the ground as he attempted to escape. The bear then proceeded to attack a second man in his 60s elsewhere on the premises. Inside the facility, the bear was observed using its paws to turn on a water tap for a drink. The bear’s whereabouts over the weekend remained unknown.
Japan is facing a surge in bear sightings and interactions due to environmental changes and a declining rural population. Climate variations affecting food sources like acorns and beech nuts have forced bears to venture farther for sustenance. Abandoned farmlands and unattended orchards have eliminated natural barriers between wilderness and inhabited areas, while young bears are becoming accustomed to human presence, finding easier food sources near settlements.
The nation’s Environment Ministry reported a record 13 fatalities from over 230 bear attacks in 2025, a stark increase compared to an average of three deaths annually in the previous decade.
