Almost 100 schools have been forced to close after a bear began prowling the streets of a busy city and skilfully evaded capture.
Authorities in Utsunomiya, a city about 60 miles north of Tokyo, told children to stay at home this morning after multiple sightings of a brown bear over the weekend.
The one metre-long bear was first spotted near a park on Saturday. In the early hours of Sunday, it was caught on CCTV running directly in front of two startled young men in the city centre.
It re-emerged in residential areas later that day and made another appearance in an industrial estate about a mile-and-half from the city centre at 4am this morning.
View 2 ImagesSchools are closed in Utsunomiya while police try to track down the brown bear(Image: Getty Images)
It is the first time a bear has been spotted in the city, where a search made up of police officers and a local hunting group resumed this morning.
Residents have been told to seek shelter in the nearest building if they spot the bear, keep windows and doors locked, and not to put out rubbish in the evening, as it is feared this could attract the animal towards homes.
Cars with loudhailers have also been driven across the city to warn residents. It is thought the bear may have been hiding in bushes, and it is expected to emerge again after sunset.
On Monday, all 94 primary and junior high schools in the region were closed, affecting 36,000 students in total. Eight high schools with 3,700 students have also asked parents to keep their children at home. It comes after a ‘highly intelligent’ bear injured four people last week in a separate incident.
Police and fire crews rushed to the Sasakino district of Fukushima in northeastern Japan after receiving an emergency call from a steel factory, where the bear had ventured inside and attacked two employees. He then fled the scene by opening a window.
View 2 ImagesAnother bear on the loose in Fukushima last week left four people injured(Image: YOUTUBE)
CCTV footage shows the black bear arriving at the gates of the factory and approaching a man in his 20s. As he tries to flee, the bear throws him to the ground, before moving to another part of the site and attacking a second man in his 60s.
While inside the factory, the bear was also observed using its front paws to turn on a water tap so it could drink. No update was provided on the bear’s whereabouts at the weekend.
Japan is currently experiencing unprecedented surge in bear sightings and encounters, driven by environmental factors and a shrinking rural population.
Climate change its impact on weather patterns have led to poor harvests of acorns and beech nuts in the mountains over recent years, forcing bears to wander further out in search of food.
Article continues below
An aging and dwindling rural population has also left abandoned farmlands and overgrown orchards, removing the “buffer zone” between wilderness and settled areas.
Scientists also believe a younger generation of bears is growing up without fear of humans, with unharvested fruit trees, pet food, and household waste providing an easier meal than venturing through the forest
The nation’s Environment Ministry said a record 13 people were killed in more than 230 attacks by bears in 2025, compared to an average of three fatalities per year during the previous decade.