Latest news with #AkiraNagai
ABC News
9 hours ago
- ABC News
Roaming bear sparks mad chase, flight cancellations at Japan's Yamagata Airport
A bear roaming the runway forced a Japanese airport to cancel flights and declare itself off-limits to passengers for the day. The black bear appeared at northern Japan's Yamagata Airport early on Thursday morning, local time, immediately prompting the closure of its runway. This first sighting resulted in a delay of up to an hour of four flights, before the animal re-emerged about noon, this time "running" on the runway. Airport staff used a car to chase it away and closed the runway again, with the bear still at large somewhere in the facility. "Given the situation there is no way we can host plane arrivals now," Yamagata Airport official Akira Nagai told AFP on Thursday evening, adding the second closure led to 12 flight cancellations. Hunters were brought in to set up a trap and police officers surrounded the airport to prevent the bear from escaping. Human encounters with bears have reached record levels in Japan, with 219 people attacked and six deaths in the 12 months to April 2024. Last month, a bear sighting brought a premature end to a golf tournament in central Japan, with organisers citing safety precautions. AFP
New York Post
11 hours ago
- General
- New York Post
Japanese airport facing ‘bear' traffic control problems on the runway
He might be smarter than the average bear. A Japanese airport is in a 'stalemate' with a black bear who has repeatedly disrupted operations on the runway and caused a dozen flights to be canceled on Thursday. The four-foot-tall bear was spotted near the tarmac of the Yamagata Airport at around 7 a.m., initially causing flights to be delayed as staffers struggled to shoo the animal away, Japanese outlet Yomiuri Shimbun reported. 4 A black bear was seen running around Japan's Yamagata Airport on Thursday. bbc Advertisement 4 Airport staff tried unsuccessfully to lure the bear away with a car. bbc Following the delay, the black bear entered the airport yet again and could be seen running around the tarmac as airport staff tried to used a car to chase it away. Footage from the airport shows the furry trespasser sprinting away from the vehicle, but the bear proved too difficult to herd away remains elsewhere inside the airport. Advertisement 'Given the situation there is no way we can host plane arrivals now,' Yamagata airport official Akira Nagai told Agence France-Presse. Hunters and officers have since been called to set up traps and catch the bear before he manages to escape the airport. 4 The bear is still believed to be inside the airport, with police and hunters called in to capture the wild animal. bbc 4 The bear's appearance led to delays and flight cancelations at the Japanese airport. Photo service japan – Advertisement 'We're in a stalemate now,' Nagai said. Japan has seen an uptick in bear encounters over the years as its declining population has seen humans retreat from shrinking rural villages that the large mammals are now reclaiming. Bear attacks have reached record levels over the past year, with Japan reporting six deaths and 219 attacks. Japan has since approved for hunters to shoot bears found in populated areas.
Yahoo
11 hours ago
- General
- Yahoo
Airport Halts and Cancels Numerous Flights After Bear Wanders onto Runway and Refuses to Leave
An airport in Japan halted flights after a bear sighting Yamagata Airport in Higashine, Japan, closed its runway after a black bear was seen roaming the area Officials attempted to chase the bear away to no availAn airport in Japan halted flights after a bear sighting on the runway. On Thursday, June 26, Yamagata Airport in Higashine, Japan, closed its runway after a black bear was seen roaming the area, according to The Japan News and The Guardian. The Guardian reported that officials attempted to chase the bear off the runway to no avail, causing air traffic controllers to cancel 12 flights. Footage of the incident shows the bear roaming the grassy area near the runway and a bright green high-visibility vehicle attempting to steer the mammal off the grounds. The bear ran off but is still believed to be on site, according to The Guardian. Hunters and police reported to the site to capture the bear. 'Given the situation, there is no way we can host plane arrivals now,' Yamagata airport official Akira Nagai told Agence France-Presse, per The Guardian. The official added: 'We're in a stalemate.' The bear, which stands at about 4 feet tall, was first spotted by an airport employee around 7 a.m. local time, according to The Japan News. CBS reported that the first sighting forced the airport to delay four flights. The runway then reopened, but had to be closed again when the furry animal reappeared around noon. The airport plans to keep the runway closed until 8 p.m., per CBS. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories. Reuters reported in 2024 that Japan's bear population was on the rise. According to the outlet, 219 people were victims of bear attacks from April 2023 to March 2024 in Japan. Additionally, over 9,000 black and brown bears were trapped and killed in the country during that time. In December 2024, a bear was killed after wreaking havoc on a supermarket in Japan and injuring an employee. Read the original article on People
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- General
- The Guardian
Bear roaming runway halts flights at Japanese airport
Authorities at a Japanese airport are locked in a 'stalemate' with a black bear which has been roaming the runway despite attempts to chase it off, forcing air traffic controllers to cancel a dozen flights. The bear first appeared at northern Yamagata airport in the early hours of Thursday, and officials immediately shut operationsdown, causing delays. Then, just before midday the animal reappeared on the runway, and flights were halted again. Footage showed a high-visibility airport car on the asphalt, trying to chase the furry trespasser away by flashing its blue lights. The bear was quick to run off, but is believed to be still at large somewhere on the site. 'Given the situation there is no way we can host plane arrivals now,' the Yamagata airport official Akira Nagai told Agence France-Presse, adding that the second closure led to 12 flight cancellations. Hunters had been brought in to set a trap and police were positioned surrounding the airport to prevent the bear from escaping. 'We're in a stalemate now,' Nagai said. The facility planned to keep the runway closed into the evening. Human encounters with bears have reached record levels in Japan, with 219 people attacked and six killed in the 12 months to April 2024. Last month, a bear sighting brought a premature end to a golf tournament in central Japan, with organisers citing safety precautions. With the climate crisis affecting food sources and hibernation times, along with depopulation caused by an ageing society, bears are venturing into urban areas more frequently, scientists have said. Agence France-Presse contributed to this report
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Yahoo
Bear on runway halts flights at airport: "We're in a stalemate"
A bear roaming the runway forced a Japanese airport to cancel flights on Thursday and declare itself off-limits to passengers for the day. The black bear appeared at northern Japan's Yamagata Airport, immediately prompting the closure of its runway. The bear, which was about four feet tall, was first spotted near the runway at around 7 a.m. on Thursday, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported. This first sighting resulted in a delay of up to an hour of four flights, before the animal reemerged around noon, this time "running" on the runway. Airport staff used a car to chase it away and closed the runway again, with the bear still at large somewhere in the facility. "Given the situation there is no way we can host plane arrivals now," Yamagata Airport official Akira Nagai told AFP Thursday evening, adding the second closure led to 12 flight cancellations. With hunters brought in to set up a trap and police officers surrounding the airport to prevent the bear from escaping, "we're in a stalemate now," Nagai said. The facility plans to keep the runway closed till around 8:00 pm, the official said. Human encounters with bears have reached record levels in Japan, with 219 people attacked and six deaths in the 12 months to April 2024. Last month, a bear sighting brought a premature end to a golf tournament in central Japan, with organizers citing safety precautions. Climate change affecting food sources and hibernation times is a key factor, but as Japan's aging population shrinks, humans are leaving rural areas, and that is also leaving room for bears to move in. "Then that area recovered to the forest, so bears have a chance to expand their range," biologist Koji Yamazaki, from Tokyo University of Agriculture, told CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer in 2023. Japan is one of the only places on the planet where a large mammal species has been reclaiming habitat — which is good news for the bears, but if, as biologists suspect, the bear population is growing, the country will have to figure out new ways to protect people, and vital infrastructure like airports, from the animals. Japan's government in February approved a bill allowing hunters to shoot bears in populated areas. In December, a bear that rampaged through a Japanese supermarket for two days was lured out with food coated in honey. Police said the animal was trapped and later killed. Young Cuban girl asks Trump to lift travel ban stopping her from joining mom in U.S. Why are U.S. adults eating less fast food? Closing arguments set to begin in Sean "Diddy" Combs trial
