![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BIBAI19882202_TP_V4.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Bears in Japan are steadily getting closer to urban areas.<\/p>\n
Not too long ago, conventional thinking was that when journeying through the forests and mountains of Japan, you should be on the lookout for bears. Conversely, when commuting through your city\u2019s central train station, bears shouldn\u2019t be a top priority\u2014wild boars perhaps<\/a>, but bears tend to have more sense.<\/p>\n The times they are a-changing, however, and it seems that this is the year of the bears in Japan, as they\u2019ve been encroaching on areas inhabited by humans at an alarming rate this year. Even parts of the country where you wouldn\u2019t expect to run into a bear, like the public men\u2019s room of JR Numata Station, aren\u2019t safe.<\/p>\n At about 1:30 a.m. on 28 November, a security guard on patrol outside the station took a moment to use the men\u2019s room. Just as he was leaving, he came face-to-face with a bear at the entrance. Startled, the 69-year-old stepped back and stumbled onto his rear end. The bear moved in to attack, and the guard flailed his arms and legs to resist it.<\/p>\n It appeared to have worked, because the bear left soon after, but not before clawing the man\u2019s right leg and causing minor injuries.<\/p>\n The city of Numata in Gunma Prefecture is by no means a big city, with a population of around 50,000 people. But it\u2019s also a far cry from the kinds of rural areas with only one set of stop lights which bears have been known to wander into in the past. The city itself is also right on the outskirts of the Greater Tokyo Area.<\/p>\n \u25bc As you can see from the map, Numata Station is in a fairly well-developed part of the city.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n A resident of Numata told the media that bear sightings are not uncommon in the mountainous areas surrounding the city, but this is the first time one has been seen this deep inside. The bear had not been found by morning, and police are urging residents to refrain from unnecessary outings.<\/p>\n \u25bc A news report shows the men\u2019s room where the attack occurred, and police patrolling the station with shields in case it comes back.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Online comments expressed surprise that a bear would come as deep into a city as this one has and sympathized with the guard for what had to have been an incredibly shocking encounter.<\/p>\n \u201cThe last thing I expect coming out of a restroom is a bear.\u201d On 7 October, a bear did make its way inside a Fressay supermarket in Numata, a few kilometers away from Numata Station, injuring two customers. The supermarket is located right on the edge of the city and mountains, making it a more likely site for a bear encounter. This bear also fled the scene and wasn\u2019t caught, so the possibility that it\u2019s the same bear exists.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n On the bright side, we should be entering the season when bears begin to prepare their dens for hibernation, provided the temperatures get low enough. If so, then the number of bear encounters should drop considerably for the rest of the year. But without a concrete solution<\/a> for the overall trend of bears entering inhabited areas throughout most of Japan, everything will just pick up right where it left off next year.<\/p>\n Source: FNN Prime Online<\/a>, YouTube\/ANNnewsCH<\/a> Like this:<\/p>\n Like Loading…<\/p>\n
\u201cHe went from feeling as relieved as possible to as terrified as possible.\u201d
\u201cAt least the bear waited until he was finished.\u201d
\u201cThat\u2019s right in the middle of the city. I can\u2019t imagine a bear being there.\u201d
\u201cI doubt that man can go back to work after this.\u201d
\u201cThe bear needed to cross a whole residential area to get to the station.\u201d
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on out there? Is this an all-out war with the bears?\u201d
\u201cWasn\u2019t Numata where that bear rampaged through a supermarket? Could it be the same bear?\u201d<\/p>\n
Top image: Pakutaso<\/a>
\u25cf Want to hear about SoraNews24\u2019s latest articles as soon as they\u2019re published? Follow us on Facebook<\/a> and Twitter<\/a>!<\/p>\n