Body found after bear attack, possibly Japan’s first such death in 2026
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Thirteen people were killed by bears in Japan in the whole of 2025.
PHOTO: UNSPLASH
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The body of a woman was found in the north-eastern Japan prefecture of Iwate on April 21 after a police officer was injured in a bear attack nearby, police said.
If confirmed as a fatal bear attack, it would be the first such death in Japan since Nov 3 in Yuzawa, in neighbouring Akita Prefecture, according to the Environment Ministry.
Thirteen people were killed by bears in Japan in the whole of 2025. Between July and October, five people were killed in bear attacks in Iwate, four of them in October alone, ministry data showed.
The 56-year-old police officer encountered a bear at a stream in Shiwa in the morning of April 21 while searching for a missing person, the police said, adding that the body of an adult woman was later found a short distance away. The officer sustained injuries on his arm and face.
A hunter who was accompanying the search team killed the female bear, according to authorities. The bear was 1.3m in length and appeared to be an adult. KYODO NEWS
