Japanese authorities have captured a black bear that spent several days roaming Utsunomiya, a city of half a million people approximately 100 kilometres north of Tokyo, after more than 20 sightings near homes, schools, and parks triggered widespread alarm and the closure of all 94 public primary and secondary schools in the city.
A veterinarian fired a tranquiliser gun at the bear on Tuesday, missing with the first shot before successfully sedating the animal with subsequent attempts roughly 15 minutes apart. Officials located the bear about 2.5 kilometres south of the city's main railway station, and the capture took approximately one hour and 40 minutes. The bear, believed to weigh around 100 kilograms and estimated at about one metre in length, had first been spotted near a park on Saturday, and was subsequently filmed on CCTV running in front of startled pedestrians in the city centre in the early hours of Sunday. It was also seen swimming in a river, climbing over backyard fences, and moving through a factory district. Officials warned at the time that there may have been two bears in the city, urging residents to keep doors and windows locked and deploying public address vehicles to issue alerts.
The Utsunomiya incident is part of a broader and worsening trend across Japan. Bear attacks reached record levels in 2025, with 238 victims reported to the environment ministry, including 13 deaths. A record 50,000 bear sightings have been reported this year, concentrated in the country's north-east. The animals are not usually seen this close to Tokyo, though a Russian hiker was injured last month in Okutama on the far western edge of the metropolitan area, and another bear appeared in the satellite city of Hachioji shortly afterwards. Utsunomiya's sighting was described as unprecedented for the city.
Experts point to several overlapping causes for the sharp rise in encounters. Asiatic black bears — which inhabit Japan's main Honshu island, with estimates ranging from 12,000 to 42,000 individuals — rely heavily on acorns and beechnuts, and recent poor harvests have driven them into residential areas in search of food. Japan's ageing and shrinking rural population means fewer people and less human activity to deter the animals, making it easier for bears to linger near settlements. Ecological shifts may also be affecting hibernation timing, extending the periods when bears are active.
A separate bear incident in Fukushima city, around 270 kilometres north of Tokyo in Japan's Tohoku region, remains unresolved. That animal attacked and injured four people in a residential district last week, broke into an electronics factory, and is believed to have escaped by unlocking a window from the inside. The Fukushima mayor described it as