Bear disasters have become widespread in Japan, with attacks on people occurring in many places one after another, which have been deemed "abnormal" by relevant departments. According to Japanese official statistics,As of October 28, the number of people who have died from bear attacks nationwide this year has reached 13, which is the highest number since statistics were collected in 2006..
For comparison, the number of people who died from bear attacks in Japan in previous years has basically remained below 5. However, it has begun to rise since 2021. Among them, there were 5 people in 2021 and 6 people in 2023.
The scale and frequency of bear damage this year is far greater than in the past. Not only have there been many cases of bears invading homes and attacking humans, but there have also been many cases of bears eating people.
For example, on July 4th this year,An incident occurred in Iwate Prefecture when a bear broke into a house and attacked a woman in her 80s. There were obvious signs of gnawing at the scene. Experts determined that this was an attack "with the purpose of cannibalism from the beginning.".
This is the first recorded case of bears targeting humans in 130 years since the "Sanmobietsu Incident" in 1915, marking a new dangerous stage in the human-bear conflict.
(Sanmaobiezhu Incident:A brown bear in Hokkaido killed seven people in two days, and human tissue was found in its stomach. However, it was generally believed that it was an accidental act caused by hunger.. )
Some analysts believe that if bears "remember the taste of humans" through repeated contact with humans, their cannibalism will further expand.
In view of the frequent cases of bear attacks on people, many countries have issued travel warnings for Japan.The UK reminds tourists from the country to be cautious when traveling to parts of Japan, especially in mountainous areas, forested areas and near densely populated areas., the Chinese Consulate General in Sapporo also issued multiple reminders.