A man in his 50s was attacked by a bear while hiking in Hinohara Village, Tokyo, and fell approximately 10 meters. The incident occurred on a hiking trail in Hinohara Village. Shortly after 10 a.m. on the 7th, an employee of “Hinohara Tokyo Citizens’ Forest” reported that “a hiker fell approximately 10 meters.” According to the Metropolitan Police Department, the man who fell was 56 years old and sustained injuries to his face and legs, but his life is not in danger.
The man explained that he was attacked by a bear cub and fell, and that he lost his balance when he tried to kick the bear to avoid it. The Metropolitan Police Department and others are investigating the circumstances of the incident in detail and are searching for the bear in cooperation with the hunting association and fire department. Meanwhile, at around 5:50 a.m. on the 7th, a bear was spotted on the grounds of a kindergarten in Akita City. Security camera footage from the kindergarten showed the bear leisurely walking around the parking lot.
There have been numerous bear sightings in the area around the kindergarten, and the prefecture and police are calling for caution. Meanwhile, on July 3rd, a bear was spotted near the entrance to the hiking trail on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of Mt. Kumotori, the highest mountain in Tokyo. The photographer said, “At first I thought it was a dog, a lost dog or something. It blocked the road, so I stopped on the side of the road and took a closer look, and it was a bear.
It made me realize that they really are close by.” Also, on June 23rd, a bear about 1.5 meters long was spotted near Manza Onsen, a popular hot spring resort in Gunma Prefecture. Bears have been sighted in various places during the rainy season. At a beekeeping farm in southern Nagano Prefecture, footage was captured of a bear coming to eat honey. The beekeeper who was a victim said, “This year, we’ve already had six or seven incidents. I think it’s been captured on security cameras more than 10 times, which is quite a lot.” The beekeeper said that he had placed the beehives on the second floor of his shed as a bear precaution. However, the bear climbed up the iron pipe and looked around to check the ceiling.
Eventually, the bear clung to the ceiling and moved, hanging by its two front legs. Then, like a gymnast, it used the momentum of its body to move little by little. It appears the bear headed to the second floor where the beehives were located, and the honey in the beehives was found to have been eaten. The beekeeper who was affected said: “I never thought a bear could climb up so nimbly. I didn’t think it would just easily and lightly climb up. It’s infuriating, and I have to figure out a way to prevent bears from climbing up.” Regarding the physical abilities of bears, Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi of Iwate University points out, “Bears have very strong arms, legs, and bites. Even a bear weighing around 100 kg can climb up with just its claws.
They are animals with a very strong attachment to food. They can climb up with that much effort without any trouble at all.” He adds that as the rainy season ends and summer begins, bears will come down to populated areas in search of food, so caution is advised. Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi of Iwate University: In August, food resources in the mountains become scarce, and bears become more active in their search for food. It’s important to be aware that bears are more likely to cause harm to humans during this time. (FNN Prime Online)
Bears, with their sharp claws, intimidate humans. While bears sometimes attack people, their claws possess a surprising ability that experts describe as a “deadly weapon.” [TV Asahi NEWS]
Some bears are reluctant to enter box traps, while others dig holes to slip through electric fences. Hunters are struggling against these clever bears that have learned their lesson. It’s a battle of wits, and we followed the front lines of bear countermeasures. (Aired June 29, 2026 on Sapporo Television)
For the second week in a row, bears have appeared in the same location, targeting the honey. The bear, known for its exceptional athleticism, which we reported on last week, was captured on camera by a newly installed camera on the second floor of the shed, burying its face into a beehive with single-minded focus. The man who runs the beekeeping farm is at his wit’s end, saying, “No matter what countermeasures we take, the bears manage to get through it every time.”
■Bear attack in Akita: 83-year-old man injured This past week, bears have appeared in populated areas in various locations. On the 5th in Akita, an 83-year-old man was attacked while gathering wild vegetables and suffered injuries to his head and face. He was airlifted to the hospital by helicopter. In Aomori, Environment Minister Ishihara inspected the site where an emergency hunting operation was being conducted. (Environment Minister Hirotaka Ishihara) “The Ministry of the Environment will do its utmost to ensure that bears and humans can coexist and share living spaces.” While the government is getting serious about measures against bears… In southern Nagano Prefecture, damage from bears targeting honey has continued since the end of last month. A camera captured the bear’s obsession with honey.
■Exclusive Bear’s Obsession with Honey: The Whole Story On the 1st of this month, a black mass fell with the rain…it was a bear. It appears to be eating something where it landed. Ten days before this footage was taken, the bear displayed surprising physical abilities by trying to climb to the second floor of a shed containing beehives. When a camera was set up on the second floor…the bear’s behavior of satisfying its appetite to its heart’s content was revealed. The bear appears, sniffing the beehives. It moves to the left side of the screen…and takes another sniff of another beehive. Then it disappears from in front of the camera…but drags a beehive back into the frame. However… perhaps surprised by the box it had knocked over, the bear jumps slightly despite its large size.
Then… surprised again… the bear plunges its face into the beehive. When it lifts its head again… wild chewing sounds can be heard… it seems to have no sense of caution at all… but experts say: (Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi, Iwate University) “Bears are at the top of the forest ecosystem, so it’s common for them to eat without paying attention to their surroundings and making slurping noises.” The bear devours the honey with single-minded focus. If you look closely at the side of the beehive… you can see the bees escaping one after another. About five minutes after it started eating, the bear’s face was covered in bees… yet it continued to eat. (Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi, Iwate University) “Its fur is very thick, so bee stings are no problem at all.”
■Where is the “honey bear”? Search from above The bear attacked the beehive many times. Where did it come from, and where is it going? About 10 minutes after filming began… “It’s moving! It’s moving a lot! A bear! Oh, there are two. Looks like a mother and cub. So they were parent and child?” Two heat sources of different sizes were moving. Q. Is it a bear? (Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi, Iwate University) “It looks a bit like a deer. Yes, either a ‘deer’ or a ‘serow’.” The program searched from the air for two days, but was unable to locate the bear. (Beekeeper who suffered damage) “The damage happens every other day. I’ve considered an electric fence, but I’m still getting quotes. It’s expensive (to install).”
The man has tried various countermeasures so far, but the damage continues. (Beekeeper who suffered damage) “I have some waste oil here, and I apply this oil like this.” He applied oil to the pole that the bear climbed to make it slippery. However, it didn’t work on the bear. Experts point out that dealing with bears that have developed such a strong attachment is extremely difficult. “Once they’ve learned this much, ‘sound, light, and smell’ are hardly enough to deter them. Even if you put up an electric fence, there’s a possibility they might break through. Even if they endure some pain, there’s food right in front of them, so the only option left is extermination.” From the July 5th issue of “Udo Times” [TV Asahi NEWS]
A car collided with a bear. A large bear suddenly jumped out in front of a car driving on a national highway in Uonuma City. The moment of the collision was captured on a dashcam. July 3rd, National Highway 252 in Ooshirakawa, Uonuma City. “Wow, I was startled! It’s a bear, I hit a bear.” A male office worker from Sanjo City was driving when a bear suddenly appeared from the bushes and collided with his car.
■Resident of Sanjo City The driver said, “I thought it was bad and I was going to hit it, so I slammed on the brakes as hard as I could, but it was too late. (The bear) seemed to flinch for a moment, perhaps in pain, but then it ran away towards the mountains.” The car sustained damage near the bumper, but the driver was not injured. The scene of the accident is on a road that runs along the mountainside near the border with Fukushima Prefecture.
■A man driving in Sanjo City said, “I was driving in an area with a river on the side and a mountain on the right. It was the first time I’d ever encountered a bear, so all I can say is I was surprised. I never thought it would happen to me. I realized that you never know what might happen, so I’ll be more conscious of that when I drive in the future.” On the 7th, there was also an accident on a national highway in Murakami City where a passenger car collided with a bear, prompting police and others to issue a warning. This information is current as of July 7, 2026.
The hiking trail on Mt. Rausu on the Shiretoko Peninsula, which had been closed after a hiker was killed in a bear attack, has reopened for the season. A bear was spotted on Mt. Tomuraushi in Shintoku Town, Hokkaido, and a hiker was rescued by helicopter. On July 5th, when the hiking trail on Mt. Rausu on the Shiretoko Peninsula reopened for the season, police and other authorities urged hikers to be careful.
The hiking trail had been closed since a male hiker was killed in a bear attack in August 2025, but it has now been reopened after 11 months. However, they are considering emergency closures if they detect bears that have become accustomed to humans. “I was careful about the time of day and prepared bear spray and a bell. I tried not to speed up and walked where I could see people as much as possible,” said a hiker. On Mt. Tomuraushi in Shintoku Town, a hiker encountered a bear and became stranded, and was later rescued by a Hokkaido Prefectural Police helicopter.
At around 2:30 p.m. on July 4th, at an altitude of approximately 1700 meters, a man in his 60s who was descending the mountain spotted a bear about 1.5 meters long about 50 meters away. The bear disappeared from sight, but the hikers were stuck and unable to move. Later, they were joined by a group of three who had come up behind them. One of them, a woman from Saga Prefecture, called 110 (the Japanese emergency number) around 4 p.m., reporting that she had seen a bear and was stranded. At around 6 p.m., about 3 hours and 30 minutes after the sighting, all four were rescued by a Hokkaido Prefectural Police helicopter and were unharmed. The four had whistles and bells with them, but they did not have bear spray.
