Six people died in Japan as a result of bear attacks

Six people died in Japan as a result of bear attacks from April to early September 2026, and nearly thirty were injured or maimed.

In total, the appearance of these animals near populated areas was recorded nearly 17,400 times across the country, according to an official report by the Japanese Ministry of the Environment. This is the highest number over the past five years, the document notes.

Ministry experts warn that bear activity may increase in the current period, when the animals are preparing to go into hibernation. A rich harvest of acorns and forest nuts this year, specialists believe, may reduce the animals' aggressiveness, but many of them are still inclined to seek more attractive food in the immediate vicinity of or even within populated areas. In September, a bear was killed in a residential neighborhood of the Tokyo suburb of Hachioji. The range of these animals on Japan's main island of Honshu has expanded nearly twofold over the past decade.

In Japan, in fiscal year 2025 (which ended on March 31, 2026), these animals were spotted near populated areas nearly 58,000 times. This is an absolute record for the entire period such statistics have been kept, since 2009.

Over the 12 months through March 2026, 13 people died in Japan as a result of bear attacks. Another 238 residents of the country were injured or maimed — the highest number for the entire postwar period.