Japan’s deadliest year for bear attacks resurrects century-old nightmares
Surging bear numbers, scarce food and fewer hunters mean another disaster on the scale of the Sankebetsu massacre cannot be ruled out
Authorities on Wednesday confirmed that a man in his seventies, discovered lifeless in Iwate prefecture on October 10, had died as a result of a bear attack while foraging for wild vegetables. His death brought Japan’s nationwide toll from bear attacks to nine so far this year, surpassing all previous records.
The frequency of bear sightings has also surged. On Tuesday morning, a bear and her two cubs were spotted near a kindergarten bus in the outskirts of Urakawa, Hokkaido prefecture. The following day, an elderly couple were attacked as the woman took out the rubbish in Aizumisato, Fukushima prefecture. Both sustained bite wounds to their necks, though their injuries were not life threatening.
The unprecedented number of fatalities this year has resurrected memories of the infamous Sankebetsu brown bear massacre of 1915, when seven villagers were killed in Hokkaido. While experts say a tragedy of that scale remains unlikely, they warn that it cannot be entirely ruled out.
Hifumi Tsuruga, a bear expert at regional research hub the Hokkaido Research Organisation, is calling for more to be done to address the rising number of deaths and injuries.