A bear has appeared in a residential area in the Kanto region. A male resident recounted the tense moment.
■ “A bear passed by,” residents in a state of tension On the 5th, our reporting team headed to Yaita City, Tochigi Prefecture, where bear sightings have been frequent. Security cameras at a house captured images of a bear. At around 2 a.m. on the 5th, a black object appeared from the darkness. When the security lights were turned on, its figure was clearly visible. It was a bear about 1.5 meters long. The bear wandered around, shaking its head from side to side, and slowly made its way through the yard. At this point, the resident said he noticed something was wrong. Resident: “(Q. When did you notice?) The dog was barking. It started around 1am. I thought the dog was making a lot of noise.
Around 2:10am, my child called, and I thought, ‘Why am I getting a call on my cell phone now?’ I got up and they said, ‘The security camera saw a bear pass by, so there might be a bear around. Be careful when you get up,’ and I said, ‘Okay.'” The bear moves into the property and approaches the house. It passes in front of a door with the curtains drawn and goes to the left side of the screen. About 20 seconds later, the resident comes to check on things. He is holding a golf club in his right hand. With the golf club still in place, he heads in the direction the bear disappeared. He stops and looks around. Fortunately, he does not encounter the bear and turns back. Resident: “Monkeys, deer, and wild boars have been out, but I haven’t heard of any bears. I have to be careful when I get up in the morning. Our yard is overgrown with trees, so a bear could hide and we wouldn’t know it was there, so we have to be careful.” The bear was later sighted in another location.
■Bear Threat: In Front of Elderly Care Facility… On the 5th, bears were sighted in three locations in the area. At around 2 a.m., it appeared on the grounds of a house, and two hours later, at around 4 a.m., it reappeared near a road intersection. A nearby elderly care facility is scrambling to deal with the bear. Facility staff: “(Normally) we leave the gate open, but since the bear appeared, we’ve closed it to prevent entry. People who need something are using the intercom.” “(Q. Is this different from before?) We’re responding with a sense of urgency. It’s inconvenient for people who come, but we want to ensure the safety of those who are here.” Local residents are under threat from the bear.
Nearby resident: “I walk around feeling nervous. I wonder what I’ll do if it appears. There’s nothing I can do if it does.” “There’s nowhere to run, so I go for a walk every day feeling scared.” Bear sightings are increasing in the Kanto region. This is footage taken on the 29th of last month at Fujiwara Dam in Minakami Town, Gunma Prefecture. An employee of the management office spotted the bear from inside the building. It is a place visited by tourists, who come to see the dam’s water release. A young bear appeared in the bushes, munching on leaves. Experts warn that the risk of encountering bears increases during the season of fresh green leaves. Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi of Iwate University said, “Large quantities of plants that serve as food for bears grow in riverbeds and forests throughout the seasons. Be careful in places you frequently visit for commuting to work or school, especially when these plants are in season. Ideally, it’s best to stay away.” [TV Asahi NEWS]
On the morning of June 5th, at Noda Elementary School in Fukushima City, classes resumed after a four-day break, with heightened security measures including parental drop-off and pick-up. A line of cars carrying students formed on the school grounds. On June 2nd, a bear about 1 meter long attacked four people (two men and two women) near Sasakino in Fukushima City, and then stayed at a factory for about 30 hours.
Norihisa Tanji, executive officer of OKI Symphotec, where the bear stayed, explained, “The windows are usually closed, but it seems the bear unlocked the door, opened the window, broke through the screen door, and got out.” Fukushima City attempted to capture the bear with an emergency hunting expedition, but the bear unlocked a window in the building and escaped. Its whereabouts after that are unknown. Executive officer Tanji of OKI Symphotec said, “It’s terrifying that a bear attack occurred at a factory that isn’t even that close to the mountains. This incident made me realize that we need to change our way of thinking about bears.”
Noda Elementary School, which resumed classes on the 5th, plans to continue asking parents to drop off and pick up their children until next week. Noda Elementary School Principal Toshihiro Aoyagi said, “We want to respond in a way that is sensitive to the children’s anxieties.” Meanwhile, a bear has been sighted since the night of the 4th, about 2 kilometers from Noda Elementary School. It may be the same bear, and the city and other authorities are continuing to be vigilant.
Bear sightings are increasing across Japan. The number of sightings is more than double that of the same period last year. A man who was attacked by a bear recounted his terror. “It’s coming, it’s coming. There’s a bear.” Three days after the first sighting, a bear attacked four people, two men and two women, in a factory and residential area in Fukushima City. It was seen drinking water from a tap and is believed to have opened a locked window on its own and escaped. Fukushima City Mayor Yuki Baba said, “I thought it was an extremely intelligent bear.” Is it the same bear? There have been a series of bear sightings in Fukushima City from last night to this morning. Photographer: “There it is, that’s a bear, right? It’s a cub.” This is footage taken on the 30th of last month in Ohira Village, Miyagi Prefecture. The bear approaches the car without showing any fear. Photographer: “This is bad, this is bad, this is bad, this is bad.” When the car started moving, the bear ran off in the opposite direction through the rice fields.
A driver said, “As it got closer and I could see the bear’s face, I felt intimidated, or rather, terrified, and I panicked and drove away. It was a cub and it was that scary, so an adult would be really frightening.” Also, at the Asa Zoological Park in Hiroshima City, a camera in the park captured a wild Asiatic black bear in the early hours of the 31st of last month. An investigation of the park did not find any traces of the bear, but as a precaution, part of the park will be closed for the time being. Bears have been sighted in various places. According to the Ministry of the Environment, the number of bear sightings nationwide in April alone is over 1,700, according to preliminary figures, more than double the number for the same period last year. In addition, the number of people who have died from bear attacks has already reached four this year, compared to zero at this time last year. If you encounter a bear, how can you protect yourself? N-Star went to Ono City, Fukui Prefecture. Fujio Yamagishi (87) was attacked by a bear in November last year. More than six months have passed since then. There is a large wound on his forehead. Fujio Yamagishi, who was attacked by a bear last year, said, “I can’t open this eye because the nerves that control my eye were severed. It still throbs, though not all the time.”
This is footage from that time. There are bloodstains scattered on the ground. There is also a blood-stained shirt. He was attacked by a bear and suffered serious injuries, including a broken nose, requiring 20 days of hospitalization. He showed us the scene. Fujio Yamagishi, who was attacked by a bear last year, said, “It’s over there. There’s a cedar tree standing there. I heard a sound from about 6 or 7 meters behind me, so I crouched down and the bear jumped on me.” After visiting a grave, Yamagishi encountered the bear on his way back to his workshop. Thinking he couldn’t escape… Fujio Yamagishi, who was attacked by a bear last year, said, “The bear came from behind, so I crouched down and protected my head with my hands.
Then the bear suddenly attacked my ear, and scratched my eye, and I thought it was going to gouge out my eyeball.” After enduring for a few seconds, the bear went back into the mountains. When encountering a bear at close range, attacks to the face and head are common, so Mr. Yamagishi took the correct method of protecting his head and other areas with both arms. Fujio Yamagishi, who was attacked by a bear last year, said, “If you excite the bear, it will come at you even more. Protect your head and other important parts, and curl your back.” ▼TBS NEWS DIG Official Website
