On the 5th, a bear appeared next to the main hall of a temple in Hachinohe City, Aomori Prefecture. It ran straight down the road and then disappeared into the bushes. The following day, the 6th, it is unclear if it was the same bear, but a bear appeared in an urban area about 8 kilometers away, and a bear measuring about 1 meter in length was culled in the first emergency hunting operation in Aomori Prefecture.
In Hachimantai City, Iwate Prefecture, the body of Chiyoko Kumagai (69), who had gone missing after going into the mountains to gather wild vegetables, was found on the 7th. She had scratches on her face and is believed to have been attacked by a bear.
Furthermore, in Asahi Town, Yamagata Prefecture, a man in his 70s who was gathering wild vegetables was also attacked. The man was scratched on his head and face, but his life is not in danger. (From the broadcast on May 8, 2026) [TV Asahi NEWS]
Chickens kept at a house in Seki City, Gifu Prefecture, were attacked by a bear. The city is increasing its vigilance. A bear slowly walks across a rock on the riverbank. This footage was taken on May 1st by a local resident near the Nagara River in Seki City. And then…
(Reporter Nozomi Tanaka) “At this house, which is very close to the mountains, chickens were attacked by a bear.” Four chickens died in the yard, two went missing… According to Seki City, on May 1st, the city received a call from a house in the city saying, “Chickens have been attacked. We suspect it was a bear.” Of the six chickens kept in the yard of the house, four were found dead in the yard, and two were missing.
A resident who was affected said… (Affected resident) “When I opened the feeder to give my chickens some food, feathers fell out in a flurry. Three of the four chickens were headless. They might have been eaten. I’ve been raising chickens for decades, but I’ve never seen anything like this before.” There were also signs that the dead chickens had been dug up. The man who kept the chickens had placed the four dead chickens in a field near his home, but when the local hunting association checked, they found signs that the area had been dug up, and bear footprints were also found in the surrounding area. There have been a series of bear sightings in the city from April 28th to 30th, and the city is strengthening its vigilance by setting up box traps and other measures.
