Japan is facing an unprecedented crisis. No, it's not the steadily declining birthrate, but rather a deadly bear attack crisis, with the number of attacks this year already reaching a historic peak of 193 incidents, including 6 fatalities.
The city of Fukushima in Hokkaido declared an immediate state of emergency on Saturday, for the first time in history, due to the bear attacks. The declaration came right after newspaper delivery man Kenjo Sato, 52, was killed by a bear on July 12, who bit him and dragged him for more than 100 meters. Not long afterward, a 50-year-old hunter disappeared on Mount Asan in Hokkaido.
The missing hunter went out to hunt deer on Tuesday, July 15, and was reported missing by a friend when he did not return from the forest. Bloodstains were discovered nearby, and a rifle was found at the side of the mountain road, presumably belonging to the missing man. Police and firefighters launched a special search operation using helicopters, fearing that the hunter had been attacked by a brown bear that had been spotted in the area just three days earlier, on July 12.
Local authorities have deployed police officers, firefighters, and hunters around the clock in an effort to curb the attacks, and the state of emergency is expected to remain in effect until August 11.
As a precautionary measure, residents of the endangered areas have been advised not to go out at night without proper preparation, not to leave food or food waste outside their homes, to carry self-defense tools such as pepper spray, and to be especially cautious when entering forests and mountains.
Japan is experiencing one of the worst bear attacks in over a hundred years. In 2023, there were 193 recorded attacks that caused 212 injuries, 6 of them fatal – the highest number since data collection began in 2006. This far surpasses the previous record of 158 attacks in 2020. The recent cases of the newspaper delivery man who was killed and the hunter who disappeared in July 2025 continue this alarming trend.
Other recent attacks across the country included several serious incidents: An 81-year-old woman was killed by a black bear in Iwate Prefecture in northeastern Japan on July 4. Three people were attacked by a bear in the city of Iiyama in Nagano Prefecture in April, when the animal entered residential homes, broke glass, and attacked two men and a woman. On Tuesday, two elderly women were attacked in separate incidents in Aomori Prefecture in the north and near Nara.
What is Causing the Bear Attacks?
The immediate cause for the rise in attacks is a severe shortage of natural food sources for the bears. As the harvest of acorns and beech nuts – the bears’ main food sources – was poor due to an extremely dry summer and climate change, the bears are unable to store enough energy before winter hibernation. As a result, they are approaching human settlements in search of fruits, chestnuts, walnuts, and agricultural produce.
Another contributing factor is the aging population of Japan. Many people are leaving rural areas for the cities. These abandoned areas are close to forests, giving bears an opportunity to expand their range and create new habitats closer to human settlements.
An additional factor is the decrease in the number of hunters in Hokkaido. A combination of a shrinking and aging rural population has led to a decline in hunters. Fewer hunters means less control over the bear population. Also, Hokkaido is now home to approximately 12,000 brown bears – nearly double the number from 1990. This is the result of successful conservation policies that led to a boom in the bear population, but now it is creating a serious problem for the human population.
The bears of Hokkaido are enormous, capable of reaching heights of over 2.9 meters and weighing more than 500 kilograms, making them especially dangerous to humans. Japan is one of the rare places in the world where a large mammal has been able to restore its habitat after being nearly extinct, but this conservation success is now becoming a nightmare for local residents.
How is Japan Dealing With the Bears?
In April 2025, the Japanese government enacted an amended law that allows municipalities to authorize "emergency shootings" by hunters when dangerous animals such as bears enter populated areas. The law, which will take effect only in September, gives local governments more power to deal with the bear crisis.
In addition, Japan is trying to use "monster wolves" as a deterrent against bears. These wolves are actually robotic, howl at 90 decibels, and have glowing red eyes that scare the bears.