Bear sightings are increasing in various locations, forcing the cancellation of popular summer events. Furthermore, a bear was captured on camera entering a room where residents were sleeping, coming dangerously close to people. Summer bear sightings continue unabated across the country. A single bear cub ran in through the main gate of a building. The location was a school lunch center. On the 9th, a bear appeared at a school lunch center in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture. Security cameras captured footage of the bear running around the premises. The bear was running at full speed when it had a near-miss with a police car that arrived on the scene. The bear then fled from the police car at top speed.
The area became chaotic, with the gate temporarily sealed off to ensure safety. The bear reportedly ran around the premises for about 10 minutes before escaping. A nearby elementary school had to arrange for children to be driven to and from school by their parents for safety reasons.
In Iwate Prefecture alone, there have been 50 bear sightings in the past week. A bear has also been spotted in Shizukuishi Town, Iwate Prefecture. It was attempting to break into a house while the residents were asleep. The bear was sitting in front of the back door of a house, and the residents tried to scare it away by shining a light on it, but the next moment, the bear, with practiced ease, put its hand on the sliding door and tried to enter the house. The panicked residents began to yell “Aaah!” to intimidate it. The loud shouts echoed through the house in the early morning. Whether this had an effect or not, the bear turned around for a moment and then left the scene. In fact, this bear had been spotted twice before the video was taken, and the first time it had broken into the room where the man’s father was sleeping.
A bear “breaks into” the house Yuta Matsubara: “A bear came in, and before I knew it, it was next to my face and my father cried out. I was surprised and went outside once, but I could hear the bear growling, so I went to look and saw the bear trying to open the back door. My father, who was sleeping, opened his eyes and found the bear so close that he could feel its breath.” Furthermore, two days before the video was filmed, a bear had also entered the cowshed. Bags containing cow feed were torn open, and on the 9th, calf milk powder was devoured. A bear “invaded” my house Yuta Matsubara: The bear seemed to enjoy the calf milk powder the most. It seemed to like it the most. It was quite a large bear, so I was pretty surprised. I heard that there are now two or three bears in the area, and another one is roaming around. I wonder how long this will continue…
I hope it gets caught in a trap soon. In the vicinity of this house, bears have also been causing damage by eating cat food. The town has set up multiple box traps and is on alert. These successive bear sightings are also affecting summer events. The “Firefly Viewing” event to be held this weekend at Orizume-dake in Iwate Prefecture has been canceled due to a bear sighting. Furthermore, the “Citizens’ Mountain Climbing” event to be held on August 1st in Yamagata City has also been canceled for the first time in its 95-year history due to a bear sighting. FNN Prime Online
A black bear, approximately 1.4 meters long and weighing 100 kg, entered the grounds of a factory in Hachinohe City and was exterminated by an emergency hunting operation conducted by the wildlife damage control team. Approximately 50 employees were on the premises at the time, but no one was injured. This is the second emergency hunting operation in Hachinohe City this year and the fourth in Aomori Prefecture. The city’s future measures in response to the increasing number of bear sightings are also summarized. (Broadcast June 26, 2026)
