Man attacked by bear inside public restroom north-west of Tokyo
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Local officials, police and hunters at a bear-safety workshop at Japan’s Tottori prefecture.
PHOTO: KENTARO TAKAHASHI/NYTIMES
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TOKYO – A man was attacked by a bear inside a public restroom near a train station in Gunma Prefecture, north-west of Tokyo, in the early hours on Nov 28.
The 69-year-old security guard told police he noticed the bear looking inside when he was about to exit the restroom building just outside JR Numata Station. He received minor abrasions on his right leg.
The man fell on his backside but fought back by kicking, causing the bear, measuring around 1m to 1.5m in length, to flee. He rushed to a nearby police box to report the incident at around 1.20am.
Train station operations had already finished for the day at the time of the attack.
Japan has seen an increase in sightings of and encounters with bears amid a scarcity of food in their natural habitats.
The number of bear attack victims between April and October totalled 197, with the figure nearing the annual worst of 219 recorded in fiscal 2023, according to the Environment Ministry’s preliminary figures. KYODO NEWS
