Japan's bear population has apparently decided that this year's post-hibernation meal plan involves significantly more human interaction than anyone would prefer. Sightings of the groggy, famished animals are already outpacing the pace set in 2025, which was itself a record-breaking year for bear attacks - because of course it was.
According to media reports, the bears have been spotted with alarming regularity in urban areas across Japan's north-east, just in time for the Golden Week public holidays when city dwellers traditionally head to the countryside for some fresh air and, apparently, a chance to make eye contact with a very large predator. Authorities are urging caution, which seems like the understatement of the season.
The situation has already turned deadly: in 2026, there has been one possible fatal mauling after the body of a woman was found last week in Iwate prefecture, shortly after a police officer was injured in a nearby bear attack. Police have been dispatched to populated areas following sightings near apartment buildings, a warehouse, and even a railway station - the bears are apparently not picky about their commuting preferences.
In Aomori prefecture, local authorities on 1 April issued a special warning about Asiatic black bears after five were spotted in just 10 days. Two other north-eastern prefectures, Iwate and Fukushima, have followed suit with similar alerts, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
These sightings have raised fears of another year of anxiety for residents of north-east Japan and Hokkaido. For context, in the 12 months from April last year, Japan saw a record 238 bear attacks, including 13 deaths. Most incidents occurred in the six prefectures of the Tohoku region - a statistic that is as grim as it is specific.
Earlier this month, a dozen police officers in a Fukushima town pursued a bear in a neighbourhood where residents claimed the animals had never been a concern. The bear, weighing 100-120kg, engaged in a lengthy standoff with law enforcement before being shot dead beneath an elevated expressway by a licensed hunter. “I never imagined a bear would show up here,” a local woman told the Asahi. “Where on earth did it come from?” The bear, sadly, did not answer.
Residents and local authorities are hoping for relief this year, as experts forecast better crops of beechnuts - the bears' dietary staple. Last year's poor harvest forced bears into populated areas to scavenge. Since poor crops seem to follow two-year cycles - a phenomenon some scientists attribute to the climate crisis and intense summer heat - a plentiful supply this year could mean fewer hungry bears roaming towns and villages.
But Shinsuke Koike, a professor of ecology at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, struck a cautionary note. Given that recent sightings occurred in spring, when bears usually eat leaves and wild plants in the mountains, Koike told the Mainichi Shimbun: “Bears that previously ventured into human settlements may have learned that food can be found in places close to people.” He added that previous encounters with people - after which the animals returned safely to their natural habitat - may mean they no longer see humans as a potential threat. Which is great for the bears' self-confidence, less so for the humans.