Four people are injured by a bear in Japan

A bear mauling in Japan injures four people. According to media reports, the animal initially entered a car parts factory in Fukushima in the north of the country and bit two workers. Two more people were injured on the grounds of a nearby factory and in a residential area.

One of the victims was seriously injured and the other three lightly injured, the newspaper „Yomiuri Shimbun“ reported.

Bears fatally mauled 13 people in Japan last month – a „record“. Between April 2025 and the end of March this year, more than 50,000 bear sightings have been reported across the country – more than double the previous record in 2023.

Experts attribute the rising numbers to the rapidly growing bear population and the accelerating emptying of rural areas in Japan. Last year, the country's forests were also devoid of acorns, so the bears went elsewhere for food. There have already been cases of bears raiding shopping centres and roaming near schools.

Japan is home to two species of bears: the Himalayan bear and the larger brown bear. Brown bears can weigh half a tonne and run faster than humans. Thousands of animals are shot every year. In addition to hunters, police and soldiers have recently been deployed to affected areas to help hunt bears.