The bears appeared while the driver was driving down a road at night. Three bears, believed to be a mother and her cubs, suddenly jumped out onto the road. The footage was taken in Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, capturing a dangerous moment when the driver narrowly avoided a head-on collision with the bears. The reporting team went to Nagai City, Yamagata Prefecture, where the bears were sighted. The man who encountered the bears was on his way home by car after finishing his newspaper delivery job. Newspaper delivery man who saw the bears: “I thought there was something black there, and then it came out onto the road, so I wondered what it was, and then I realized it was a bear, which surprised me.
I blurted out ‘Ahhh’.” In October 2025, this man had a head-on collision with a bear while delivering newspapers by motorcycle. He suffered a concussion and was taken to the hospital. Newspaper delivery man who saw the bears: “To be honest, not again… It’s like, ‘They’ve come out again.’ Whenever I go to dark places, I think of bears.” Furthermore, on the 8th, a bear also appeared in a field about a 15-minute walk from this sighting location. A bear ravaged approximately 100 corn plants and other crops planted in a field. A farmer who suffered damage said: “They destroyed everything. Only the ones I planted at different times are barely still alive. I wonder if it was a mother bear and her cubs.” In Yamagata Prefecture, there have already been more than 80 bear sightings reported in July. The corn was the target. According to experts, bears determine when vegetables and fruits that they will eat are “ripe.”
Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi of Iwate University said: “Bears start eating the most delicious, ripe produce. Bears regularly appear in the area to check (when the produce is ripe).” Bears have also been spotted in Takayama City, Gifu Prefecture. A bear was seen running up a steep mountain slope. A woman walking on a mountain road said she instinctively rang the bear bell she was holding.
A woman who witnessed the bear said, “The distance (because it was so close) was really scary. I thought that if I provoked it in any way, it might come closer.” Experts point out the dangers of “summer bears.” Associate Professor Takayoshi Yamauchi of Iwate University: From now until mid-July, food (in the mountains) will gradually become scarce, and the bears’ range will expand more and more. As a result, the distance between humans and bears will inevitably decrease, and this will inevitably lead to an increase in injuries to people. FNN Prime Online
Early on the 9th, a bear appeared at a house in Shizukuishi Town, Iwate Prefecture, and entered a room where the residents were sleeping. It seems the bear was quite adept at opening doors. (From “news every.” broadcast on July 9, 2026)
On the 8th, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government presented a new plan that includes a policy to lift the ban on hunting Asiatic black bears on a limited basis for the first time in approximately 20 years. When “news zero” interviewed experts, they said that while there would be some effect, challenges were also pointed out.
On Tuesday morning, a 56-year-old man was injured after falling when attempting to fend off a young bear in Tokyo’s Hinohara Village. He tumbled roughly 10 meters down a mountainside, resulting in injuries to his face and other areas. Police noted that despite several sightings of bears in the Hinohara village, this is the first encounter reported near the “Tomin no Mori” park.
A bear appeared at a house in Shizukuishi Town, Iwate Prefecture, and entered the room where the residents were sleeping. (Broadcast on July 9, 2026)
