Latest news with #FukushimaTown
NHK
23-07-2025
- NHK
Hokkaido town installs high-performance cameras to detect brown bears
A town in Japan's northernmost prefecture of Hokkaido has begun installing high-performance cameras to detect the appearance of brown bears nearly in real time. A newspaper delivery man was killed by a brown bear in Fukushima Town on July 12. That bear was shot dead, but brown bears have often been seen rummaging through garbage in residential areas. The town installed 11 surveillance cameras after the man's death. On Wednesday, workers began setting up five high-performance cameras with cooperation from a major telecom firm. Two of the cameras were set under a bridge in the Hikura district, where a brown bear was caught in a trap earlier on Wednesday. The district is adjacent to where the fatal attack occurred. The new cameras can film at night using infrared. They can detect moving objects at a distance of up to about 25 meters, and send the images by email almost in real time to town officials. Fukushima Town officials say they will be able to keep residents safe by detecting bears early, and quickly notifying hunters.
NHK
18-07-2025
- NHK
Bear shot dead in Hokkaido town near site of fatal attack
Local officials have shot dead a bear in a northern Japanese town where a man was killed in a bear attack last week. Police are investigating whether the bear is the one that attacked the man. Police say they received a report from a resident in Fukushima Town, Hokkaido, saying a bear was sighted in the town's Tsukisaki area at around 2 a.m. on Friday. Police officers and hunters rushed to the scene and spotted a brown bear about 1.5 meters tall. The hunters reportedly shot the animal dead at around 3:30 a.m. On July 12, a 52-year-old newspaper delivery man was fatally mauled. The place where he was found dead was about 800 meters away from the spot of the latest sighting. A number of bear sightings have been reported in the town. Experts also found large and small paw prints resembling those of brown bears.
NHK
15-07-2025
- NHK
Hokkaido town still on alert days after fatal brown bear attack
Residents of a town in Hokkaido, northern Japan, are still on the alert for a brown bear, days after an attack there left one person dead. Police in Fukushima Town said officers on patrol noticed damage to the doors of a garbage storage shed on the premises of a supermarket and home improvement store at around 11:30 p.m. on Monday. They said there was no problem an hour earlier, and that pet food and other items inside had been taken. The shed is about 400 meters north of where a newspaper delivery man was killed by a brown bear on Saturday. On Monday morning, food waste was found scattered around the shed. Store manager Iwabuchi Yuki said they cannot close the supermarket because it's the only one in town. He said some employees come to work on foot, so he is thinking of picking them up and dropping them off by car to ensure their safety. The municipal government is urging local residents not to put their garbage out at night. One man said when he takes the trash out, he checks to make sure there are no bears around. Town official Nakatsuka Masashi said food waste may be attracting the animals, so they want people to put out their garbage only on collection day.
NHK
14-07-2025
- NHK
Children driven to school amid continued bear threat in northern Japan
Children and their guardians came to school in cars and buses in a town of the northern Japanese prefecture of Hokkaido in the wake of a fatal bear attack. Monday is the first school day for students at elementary and junior high schools in Fukushima Town since a man was killed by a bear in the area on Saturday. The 52-year-old newspaper delivery man was found lying in the bushes in the town's Mitake district with what appeared to be multiple claw marks on his body. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The incident prompted the police to begin around-the-clock patrols. They remain vigilant, but have not yet found the bear. A bear was reportedly spotted on Sunday night near Fukushima Elementary School in the area of the attack. On Monday, students could be seen arriving in cars or buses, accompanied by their parents or guardians. A mother of a fifth-grader said she is worried and her child is frightened. She said she hopes the bear will be caught soon. She added that people cannot go outdoors, and that if this situation becomes prolonged, it would be difficult to get to her job. The school's principal, Nagaura Norika, said she wants to continue providing learning opportunities as well as mental-health care for her students, while keeping safety the top priority. For the time being, the parents and guardians of students in the town are expected to accompany their children to and from school. Meanwhile, on Monday morning, experts from the Hokkaido Research Organization began a survey at the attack site. They hope to collect fur, saliva and other traces of the bear for DNA testing.
NHK
13-07-2025
- NHK
Police patrol around the clock in Hokkaido town after deadly bear attack
Police are patrolling around the clock in a town in Hokkaido, northern Japan, where a man was killed by a brown bear on Saturday. The animal has not yet been found. On Saturday, police confirmed the death of a man found in bushes after a witness reported a bear attack before 3 a.m. in Fukushima Town's Mitake district. The 52-year-old newspaper delivery man had multiple scratches on his body. On Sunday, police installed a sign and a barricade to restrict access to about 600 meters of road near the attack site in an attempt to prevent people from entering the mountain. Children in the town's elementary and junior high schools will get rides to and from school starting on Monday. Physical education and other outdoor activities are cancelled for the time being. Experts from the Hokkaido Research Organization will conduct an on-the-spot survey on Monday to find fur, saliva and other traces of the bear. Police and town officials are calling on residents not to leave garbage outside and to take extra caution in early morning and early evening, when brown bears are most active.
