A man has been attacked by a bear in a public toilet in Japan, local media reported on Friday – the latest in a record-breaking wave of attacks, including in populated areas, this autumn.
The victim, a 69-year-old security guard, told police he was about to leave the building in Gunma Prefecture, north of Tokyo, early Friday when he saw the 1-1.5 meter long bear peering inside, Kyodo news agency and broadcaster NHK reported.
The man, who has not been named, fell backwards and fought the bear by kicking his legs, causing it to run away. He suffered minor injuries to his right leg, but was able to run to a nearby police box to report the incident, which occurred near a railway station that was closed for the night.
A record 13 people have been killed in bear attacks in Japan since the beginning of April, according to the Environment Ministry, while the number of attacks in that period stands at 197 – another record. Many of the incidents occurred in the northern prefecture of Akita, followed by Iwate and Fukushima in Japan’s northeast.
This number in 2025 will almost certainly surpass the annual record of 219 attacks set in the year starting April 2024.
Experts say that after poor acorn and beechnut harvests in their natural habitat, hungry bears are entering residential and other built-up areas in search of food.
In response, the government has sent members of the Self-Defense Forces to Akita to help local hunters capture and dispose of the bears. Armed police officers have also been allowed to shoot animals amid a shortage of licensed hunters.
A local government in north-east Japan apologized this week after it discovered that an image posted on social media to raise awareness about bear attacks was AI-generated.
The image uploaded to the Onagawa municipal government’s X account shows a giant bear standing on a road at night.
The creator of the image, who saw the photo spreading online, contacted authorities to explain that it was a fake, after which authorities removed the post.
“We have caused anxiety and inconvenience to city residents,” the Mainichi Shimbun quoted an Onagawa official as saying.
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