First-ever sighting triggers school closures

Authorities in Utsunomiya, a city of roughly half a million residents about 100 km north of Tokyo, took the decision after the first confirmed bear sighting in the city's history. The animal was initially seen on Saturday evening near a park in a residential area. Surveillance footage from early Sunday showed the bear running through a downtown shopping arcade, passing two visibly startled people.

More than ten sightings were reported across the city through the weekend, including in residential neighbourhoods, near a high school, and in an industrial zone. The last confirmed sighting came early Monday morning, about 500 metres from a middle school. Police, municipal officials, and the local hunting association launched a search, while residents were urged to lock doors and windows and to shelter in the nearest building if they encountered the animal.

“We have deployed vehicles in areas where a bear has been spotted to alert residents and encourage them to stay in their homes or vehicles.”

A growing national pattern

Utsunomiya is not an isolated case. Bear sightings and attacks in urban areas have been rising across Japan. Last week, a bear injured at least four people in the northeastern city of Fukushima. Security footage from Fukushima Steel Works showed a black bear chasing a worker at the factory entrance and throwing him to the ground. Earlier, a Russian tourist was injured by a bear in Okutama, on the western edge of the Tokyo metropolitan area, and another bear appeared in the satellite city of Hachioji.

In the year to March, nationwide bear sightings exceeded 50,000, more than double the previous record set two years earlier. Last year, a record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan. The government set up a task force in 2026 to address the rising casualties.

Why bears are moving into cities

Experts point to several factors driving the increase. Climate change has reduced harvests of natural food sources such as acorns and beechnuts. The depopulation of rural areas and the spread of abandoned farmland have made residential zones quieter and emboldened bears to venture further in search of food. A decline in hunting has also played a role.

Estimates suggest the population of Asiatic black bears in Japan has tripled since 2012. The species is listed as vulnerable globally, but its numbers in Japan are now estimated between 12,000 and 42,000. On Hokkaido, an additional 12,000 brown bears are estimated to live, with some reaching two metres in length and 400 kilograms in weight.

Response and monitoring

Local authorities are examining new countermeasures, including surveillance cameras linked to AI systems that can track bear movements. In Utsunomiya, the immediate priority remains locating the animal, described as about one metre long. It is not yet clear whether the sightings involve a single bear or multiple individuals. The city had recorded only two unconfirmed bear sightings in the previous year before this weekend's events.