The body of an 85-year-old man was found in a stream in Iwate Prefecture. It is highly likely that he was attacked by a bear. [TV Asahi News]
On the afternoon of May 19th, there were multiple bear sightings in the urban area of Chikuma City, Nagano Prefecture. The city and police conducted a search, but were unable to find the bear. Parents at a nearby elementary school came to pick up their children, and the situation is on high alert. (Broadcast on May 19, 2026)
A body with the upper body missing has been found near a mountain pass spanning Okutama Town in Tokyo and Chichibu City in Saitama Prefecture. Footprints believed to belong to a large animal were found in the vicinity, suggesting the body may have been attacked by a bear. ■ “A place with many bears” Metropolitan Police Department proceeds with identifying the body Newscaster Tomohiro Kiire (19th, shortly after 10:30 p.m.) “This is Okutama Town in Tokyo. The trailhead ahead is closed due to a bear attack that resulted in a person being injured.” A body with the upper body missing and of unknown gender has been found near Sengentoge Pass, which spans Okutama Town in Tokyo and Chichibu City in Saitama Prefecture.
According to the Metropolitan Police Department, footprints and droppings believed to belong to a large animal were found around the body, and the body showed signs of being disturbed by an animal. The discovery was made in an area with many bear sightings. According to investigators, the condition of the body suggests the body may have been attacked by a bear. The name on an identification card found in a hiking backpack near the body matches the name of a person for whom a missing person report has been filed. The Metropolitan Police Department is working to identify the body. Someone who has been to Sengentoge Pass said, “(Q. What kind of place is it?) It’s quite deep in the mountains, on the border between Saitama and Tokyo prefectures. It’s a place with many bears. Nothing like this has happened before, so we have to be careful from now on.”
■Concerns spreading just before tourist season: “Never heard of a fatality in Okutama” A man who runs a bento shop in Okutama town said: Kazuyoshi Sato (51), Okutama Kitchen “I was born in Okutama and it’s my hometown, but I’ve never heard of anyone being killed in a bear attack, so I’m surprised.” According to the Ministry of the Environment, at least since fiscal year 2008 when statistics began to be collected using the current method, no deaths caused by bears have been confirmed in Tokyo. Okutama town resident: “There was a broadcast saying that ‘someone was attacked by a bear,’ and to be careful.
Bear attacks have been increasing since last year. Even as a resident, I’ve recently been thinking that Okutama town is in a dangerous situation.” In Okutama town, on the 17th, a man in his 30s of Russian nationality was attacked by a bear while hiking and suffered serious injuries. Okutama’s Kitchen Kazuyoshi Sato (51) “(My concern for the future is) that the number of tourists will simply decrease. Okutama is in its peak season right now. I’m worried that just as tourism demand is about to rise towards summer, it will be dampened.”
■Bear attacks nationwide A 70-year-old man recounts the moment of his bear attack There have been a series of bear attacks in various parts of the country. Seki Masatoshi (70), who was attacked by a bear “I was facing the rice paddy like this (crouching down) when it hit me hard here (in the face). I wondered what had hit me, but when I looked, it was dark, so I thought it must be a bear. Before I could even look at it, it quickly ran away.” A man from Minamiuonuma City, Niigata Prefecture, said he was attacked while working on his farm on the morning of the 19th. He had painful bandages on his temples, ears, and face. The bear that charged at him was about 1 meter long. He said that its claws hit his face at that moment. Masatoshi Seki (70), who was attacked by a bear, said, “I felt a little pain, so I did this with my hand and it started bleeding. I used a towel from my pickup truck to stop the bleeding for a bit. It stopped quickly, so it wasn’t serious. It was a stroke of luck.” This is the first time this year (2026) that a person has been injured by a bear in Niigata Prefecture.
■Government to strengthen bear countermeasures Increase the number of “government hunters” Amid a series of bear attacks across the country, the government held a meeting to discuss countermeasures. Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said, “We need to step up our efforts and quickly establish an emergency response system, implement measures to prevent bear sightings, strengthen bear surveys and captures, ensure the safety and warn residents, and disseminate information.” Chief Cabinet Secretary Kihara instructed relevant ministers to take all necessary measures, including emergency hunting. The government plans to hire more than 100 additional specialists and local government employees with hunting licenses, known as “government hunters,” to strengthen the capture system. ▼TBS NEWS DIG Official Website
