Fukushima Bear Injures 4 as Japan Logs 230 Attacks and 13 Deaths in 2025

3 articles · Updated · Boston.com · Jun 2

Four people were injured Tuesday in Fukushima’s Sasakino district after a black bear attacked two steelworks employees, another man in his 60s and a woman in her 80s.
Security footage showed the bear chasing and knocking down a worker in his 20s before moving through nearby company grounds; the three men had minor injuries and the woman had moderate injuries, none life-threatening.
Police had not caught the bear by Tuesday afternoon and believed it was inside a second company compound, while two nearby schools closed and one shifted classes online.
Japan’s Environment Ministry said bears killed a record 13 people in more than 230 attacks in 2025, after more than 60 people were attacked in Akita last year.
Officials link the rise to a growing bear population—estimated at 57,800 in March—and have adopted a culling plan that would triple municipal bear-control staff to 2,500 and double traps.

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With Japan's countryside emptying, is the rise in bear attacks a wildlife problem or a human demographic crisis?