A MAN in his 50s has been left battered and bruised after a traumatising bear attack in Japan.
The incident took place in the Fukushima prefecture and marks the latest in a growing number of encounters that have triggered widespread panic across the country.
Local police said the man was slashed on the back of his head while walking in the town of Aizubange on Thursday evening.
He managed to escape into a nearby house and was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Another resident in his 80s was attacked in the same neighbourhood earlier this week.
Authorities have they are stepping up patrols and urged residents to stay alert, as bear sightings and attacks rise sharply across northern Japan.
At least 100 people have been attacked since April, marking one of the worst years on record.
Fatal maulings have reached a record high with the latest death figures at 13.
Over half of this year’s fatalities have taken place in Akita and Iwate prefectures.
In Akita prefecture, residents say the animals are venturing closer to homes and shops in depopulated areas due to dwindling food sources before winter hibernation.
Japanese confectioner, Keiji Minatoya, who was attacked by a bear in 2023, said that authorities must be ruthless with bears that no longer fear human settlements.
“Bears that attack have learned that humans are weak,” he said.
“We locked eyes in silence,” describing when he came face to face with a bear outside his shop in rural Kitaakita in northern Japan.
“I thought I was done for.”
The bear pinned him down and mauled him, leaving deep gashes across his face, bite marks along his arm and torso.
The apex predator also nearly scalped him before running off.
Emergency services airlifted Minatoya 37 miles to Akita city for life-saving surgery.
Forestry officers say overgrown gardens and abandoned houses have given bears more places to hide and forage.
“Overgrown yards around empty houses make people uneasy,” forestry official Kimitoshi Kishino said.
He added that local authorities have difficulty clearing private properties without owners’ consent.
According to government data, bear sightings in Akita have reached a total of 8,000 this year.
Experts say that the population of Asiatic black bears – listed globally as a vulnerable species – has tripled since 2012.
This has been helped by restrictions on hunting and warmer winters that extend foraging seasons.
These animals are not stopping there, with sightings in major cities Tokyo and Kyoto on the rise.
Japan’s Environment Ministry said it was reviewing measures to manage bear populations.
It urged people in high-risk areas to harvest fruit trees, avoid leaving food waste outdoors and carry noise making devices when walking near forests.
Earlier this month, a group attack in Akita left one man dead and three others hospitalised.
Police discovered the body near a farm after receiving emergency calls.
Just hours earlier, in Toyama Prefecture, a woman in her 70s was also injured in another bear assault.
In northern Iwate Prefecture, 60-year-old Katsumi Sasazaki went missing while cleaning an outdoor bath.
Investigators later found human blood and bear fur at the scene.
The government has vowed to take tough new measures to prevent this from continuing
“We are committed to further strengthening various measures including securing and training government hunters and managing the bear population,” officials said this week.
