Bear on the loose in Japanese city forces closure of nearly 100 schools

A bear spotted roaming the streets of a Japanese city for three days prompted authorities to shut nearly 100 schools on Monday (June 8), as dozens of hunters and officials fanned out across the area in search of the animal. The city government of Utsunomiya, located north of Tokyo, ordered the closure of all 94 public primary and junior high schools after receiving more than 10 bear sighting reports since Saturday. The reported sightings included one at a shopping arcade.

"We have vehicles out to areas where a bear was seen to make people aware and to urge people to stay indoors or in vehicles," a city official told news agency AFP. The official added that dozens of hunters, police, and local authorities had been deployed to locate the animal.

It remained unclear whether the sightings involved a single bear or multiple animals, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Japan has recorded a growing number of bear encounters and attacks in recent years, particularly in urban areas. A record 13 people were killed by bears in the country last year, with a surge in incidents linked to the animals emerging hungry from hibernation.

Bear sightings across Japan surpassed 50,000 in the year to March, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data. Utsunomiya, a regional capital with a population of 510,000, had reported just two unconfirmed bear sightings in the preceding year.

The bear currently being hunted was first spotted on Saturday morning north of the city centre, and was described as approximately one metre, or three feet, in length. A string of sightings followed in a residential neighbourhood the same day, at a shopping arcade on Sunday, and subsequently at a park, a high school and a junior school. On Monday morning, residents reported spotting a bear near a wholesale market, the city official said.