A black bear has finally been caught in Japan, ending a day-long hunt which had prompted the closure of all schools following its first sighting.
The city of Utsunomiya in Tochigi Prefecture, home to half a million residents and located about 100km north of Tokyo, was put on high alert after the bear was spotted in a residential area amid mounting reports of bear attacks across the country.
Japanese authorities implemented an unprecedented step of suspending all 94 of its primary and middle schools, while Utsunomiya University canceled all of its classes.
When the bear resurfaced in a residential area early on Tuesday afternoon, police cars and other vehicles involved in the search promptly blocked off the vicinity. For more than an hour, police officers milled about, with some holding long sticks and others metal shields, as some national broadcasters aired live footage filmed from helicopters.
Three tranquillising darts were fired at the bear weighing around 100kg. One of the darts hit the mark, leading to the animal's capture. The bear was then loaded onto a cage on a truck and driven away. The city has yet to decide what to do with it, an official told Reuters.
Around 100km to the northeast, Iwaki in Fukushima Prefecture also suspended classes at three schools on Tuesday in a neighbourhood where a black bear was spotted a day earlier.
Last week, a bear attack in Fukushima city left at least four people injured, with security footage in one incident showing the animal chasing a man and throwing him to the ground.
Bear attacks have spiked in Japan, including in urban areas, prompting the government to set up a task force this year to reduce incidents. In fiscal 2025, the country reported a record 238 casualties, including 13 deaths, according to the environment ministry.
While Asiatic black bears are globally classified as a vulnerable species, their numbers in Japan are estimated to have tripled since 2012, partly due to a decline in hunting. The Japanese government in March estimated the overall bear population at around 57,800.
Officials have adopted a roadmap of bear population management, calling for systematic culling. Under the plan, the number of municipal bear control staff will triple to 2,500 within five years, while the number of bear traps will double.
Experts attribute this surge in activity near human settlements to climate change, which has reduced natural food sources like acorns and beechnuts, alongside the depopulation of rural areas and the proliferation of abandoned farmland.
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