More wild bears have been spotted in residential areas in Japan in recent years, resulting in a rising number of attacks and deaths.
“A 73-year-old woman was found lying down with head injuries at the facility entrance on Thursday night,” a local police spokesman in the northern Akita region said.
Emergency doctors told police they believed it was a bear attack based on the injuries the woman suffered, the spokesman said.
Security camera footage outside the facility showed a bearlike animal attacking the woman when she was walking with what appeared to be a rubbish bag, he added. “She was unable to talk due to injuries and was unconscious when sent to hospital.”
According to government data, bears attacked 85 people in the year ending in March, with three people killed. In the previous year, there were 219 attacks and six deaths.
A bear climbs a tree on temple premises in a residential area in Morioka, the capital of Iwate prefecture in northeastern Japan, on April 2. Photo: Kyodo