TOKYO: A record number of bears were sighted and killed in Japan in the 12 months to March this year, preliminary government data showed.
Bear attacks killed 13 people in Japan last year, more than twice the previous high, and in 2026 so far there have already been three suspected human fatalities to bears.
In the fiscal year to March 31, authorities confirmed more than 50,000 bear sightings nationwide, more than double the previous record of nearly 25,000 set two years before, environment ministry data showed Monday (May 11).
The number of bears caught and then killed nearly tripled from a year earlier to 14,601, also marking an all-time high that far surpassed the previous record of slightly over 9,000 from fiscal 2023, according to the data.
Some northern regions also reported in April more than four times as many sightings as last year as the animals emerge from hibernation, local media said.
Last year bears were seen entering homes, roaming near schools and rampaging through supermarkets and hot spring resorts on an almost daily basis.
Scientists say that the bear population has grown sharply in recent years just as the number of people living in rural areas has declined.
Bears are thriving thanks in part to an abundance of food -- including acorns, deer and boars -- under the influence of a warming climate, experts say.
The resulting "overcrowding" has forced bears to stray out of the mountains -- which make up around 80 percent of Japan -- towards human-inhabited areas, experts say. - AFP
