Bear Attacks Four in Fukushima City as Sightings Hit Record High Amid Rural Depopulation

A bear attacked four people across two factories and a residential area in Fukushima City on Tuesday. The animal was first seen inside a car parts factory, where employees were bitten, according to police and fire officials cited by the Yomiuri Shimbun. It then moved to an electronics equipment manufacturer and a nearby residential area, injuring one person at each location.

One of the four victims was heavily injured; the other three suffered mild injuries, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. Fukushima prefectural police said a bear-related human injury incident occurred in the city and injured four people. The bear had not been located after the attacks.

Nationwide, bear sightings in the fiscal year that ended in March exceeded 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data. Thirteen people were killed by bears in Japan last year. The animals have appeared on airport runways, golf courses and near schools, and have caused panic inside supermarkets and hot spring resorts.

One bear that entered a supermarket remained inside for two days before being lured out with honey-coated food and later killed by police. In April, bear attacks killed one person and injured five others, the environment ministry said. More than a dozen sightings have been reported on the outskirts of Tokyo this year, including an incident last month in which a Russian man in his 30s was mauled while hiking.

U.S. State Department warned Americans in Japan to be alert for bears. A Japanese company that produces animatronic "Monster Wolf" scarecrows with flashing red eyes and recorded howls has received a large volume of orders.

Scientists attribute the increase in encounters to fast-growing bear populations and a declining human presence in rural areas.