Japan: Bear rampage injures 4 in Fukushima

The bear, which attacked employees at a steel works company, has still not yet been captured. This latest attack comes after 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, according to authorities.

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Police officers are on patrol around a business premises where a bear is believed to be staying, in Fukushima City, Fukushima Prefecture, Japan, on June 2, 2026
Fukushima authorities rushed to the scene after the reports of the attackImage: Yomiuri Shimbun/AP Photo/picture alliance

A rampage by a black bear wounded four people in Japan’s northeastern city of Fukushima on Tuesday, according to authorities and media reports. 

What do we know about the rampage? 

The bear first injured two employees at the Fukushima Steel Works company, with the local police and fire department being deployed to the scene of the attack. Authorities had received a call from the company that “employees had been bitten.” 

The bear then attacked another man in his 60s at a separate firm. It also attacked a woman in her 80s who lives in that same neighborhood.    

Only one of the victims of the bear was heavily wounded. The rest of the victims were inflicted with only mild injuries.   

This image made from the security camera footage provided by the Fukushima Steel Works, shows a bear, center, running after attacking a person, right, on its premises in Fukushima, Japan, Tuesday, June 2, 2026
The bear threw one of the younger victims on the groundImage: Fukushima Steel Works/AP Photo/picture alliance

The bear has not yet been caught by authorities and is believed to be inside the second company where it was last seen. Police officers wielding long sticks have surrounded the company grounds.   

Bear attacks raise the alarm for Japanese authorities

Bear attacks are on the rise in Japan.

Japan’s Environment Ministry said a record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year. 

Photo taken on May 14, 2025, shows a bear and two cubs walking on a road in Shiretoko National Park in the northern Japanese town of Shari in Hokkaido
The Japanese black bear population is in the tens of thousandsImage: Kyodo/picture alliance

The governor of Japan’s northern Akita Prefecture last year even requested formal military support to protect residents from the attacks.   

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