Japanese City Closes 94 Schools After Bear Sighting

Japan has recorded a remarkable 50,000 bear sightings so far this year, with the bulk concentrated in the country's north-east. Such encounters near the Tokyo metropolitan area remain unusual, though incidents are mounting: a Russian hiker was injured last month in Okutama on the region's western fringe, and another bear appeared shortly afterwards in the satellite city of Hachioji. The previous week, a bear in Fukushima Prefecture attacked four people and entered a corporate office before escaping through a factory window. Experts attribute the upward trend to fluctuations in harvests of the bears' staple foods, particularly acorns, which can drive them into towns to forage. Falling rural populations, especially among younger residents, have also rendered residential fringes quieter and more inviting to wildlife.

Bear attacks across Japan have climbed sharply in recent years, with deaths and injuries reaching a record high in the year to March. Local governments are exploring countermeasures, including CCTV cameras linked to artificial intelligence (AI) systems designed to track animal movements. Population estimates remain imprecise: between 12,000 and 42,000 Asiatic black bears are thought to inhabit Honshu, Japan's main island, while roughly 12,000 of the considerably larger brown bears live on the northern island of Hokkaido.