Photo/Illutration An Asian black bear captured in Tottori Prefecture (Provided by the prefecture)

Official statistics confirm the spiraling bear crisis, with 20,792 sightings reported nationwide over the six months to September–-already surpassing the total for the previous 12 months and marking a five-year high.

A record 13 people have died from bear attacks in fiscal 2025, which began in April, according to preliminary figures released at an inter-ministry meeting on Nov. 6.

Of these, two fatalities were caused by brown bears, which inhabit Hokkaido. The remaining 11 were attributed to smaller Asian black bears, primarily found in the Tohoku region.

More than 70 percent of human injuries since July occurred in residential or urban areas, indicating a troubling trend in bear intrusions into populated zones.

Iwate Prefecture recorded the most bear sightings with 4,499 cases, followed by Akita with 4,005, Aomori with 1,835 and Yamagata with 1,291. Figures for Hokkaido have not been released.

These northeastern prefectures are experiencing unprecedented bear activity compared to southern regions.

The surge in bear encounters is closely linked to a severe shortage of beech nuts–the primary food source for Asian black bears fattening up for hibernation.

According to the Forestry Agency, the prefectures of Aomori, Iwate, Akita, Miyagi and Yamagata experienced a “catastrophic crop failure” of beech nuts. This phenomenon previously occurred in fiscal 2023, which also saw a surge in bear incidents.

In Iwate, 21 of 24 surveyed sites showed no nut production, while Akita saw 46 out of 48 sites produce no yield.

(Hiroki Koizumi also contributed to this article.)

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