FUKUSHIMA: A man in his 50s was attacked by a bear in the town of Aizubange in Japan’s Fukushima prefecture on Friday (Nov 7) evening.
He was slashed on the back of his head. He sustained non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to hospital.
According to local police, the man had rushed into a nearby house after being attacked.
On Nov 2, a man in his 80s was also attacked and injured by a bear in the neighbourhood.
The police have patrolled the area and urged caution against bears.
There have been more than 100 bear attacks, with a record 12 people killed across Japan in the year since April, according to the environment ministry. Two-thirds of those deaths were in Akita Prefecture and nearby Iwate.
Japan’s military on Nov 5 deployed troops to the country’s mountainous north to help trap bears after an urgent request from the local authorities struggling to cope with a wave of attacks.
The troops will help transport, as well as set and inspect the box traps used to capture the bears. The bears are then culled by trained hunters with weapons more suited to that purpose. - The Japan News/ANN/Agencies
