Bear kills another person in Japan amid rising attacks

Separate bear attacks in Japan killed one and injured four on Friday, officials said, days after the government vowed to toughen measures because of a record year of deadly assaults by the animals.

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Before Friday's attacks, bears had killed a record nine people this year, surpassing the previous high of six in the fiscal year that ended in March 2024.

The animal has been increasingly encroaching into Japan's towns due to factors ranging from a declining human population to climate change.

In a mountainous village in the northern region of Akita, police received a report of a bear mauling on Friday involving four people.

“One died and three are being treated at a hospital” after the attack, a local police officer told reporters.