The perpetrators are between 2 and 3 feet tall, on all fours. On their hind legs, they can reach up to 7 feet. They\u2019re furry. They love food. They are \u2014 you guessed it by now \u2014 bears.<\/p>\n
An area of northeastern Japan is seeing a spate of attempted \u2014 and sometimes successful \u2014 break-ins, according to local news reports. This week, Asiatic black bears were sighted in Iwate prefecture, causing residents to install traps and electric fences, the reports said.<\/p>\n
One bear \u201ccame inside, right where my father happened to be sleeping,\u201d Yuta Matsubara told a Japanese news outlet<\/a>. \u201cHe noticed the bear, turned around, and shouted loudly, causing it to go back outside.\u201d<\/p>\n The bear came back later to try again, which was captured on video<\/a>.<\/p>\n In other instances, bears entered three homes in the prefecture and in some cases raided fridges and pantries for food, according to the local daily newspaper Kahoku Shimpo.<\/p>\n Not only are the perpetrators savvy \u2014 it is possible that they are repeat offenders. The video, local media reported, showed one of five attempts that week. \u201cIt\u2019s truly terrifying. I showed this video to the town office,\u201d Mr. Matsubara told TV Asahi. \u201cThis is an individual bear that has learned how to open sliding doors and enter people\u2019s homes.\u201d<\/p>\n Although nobody was hurt in the sightings over the last week or so, encounters between humans and bears in Iwate are the latest examples of a nationwide surge that is testing Japan\u2019s traditional belief in harmonious coexistence with nature.<\/p>\n Bear encounters are on the rise in Japan. They have been spotted in northern ski towns and southern villages, and on the outskirts of cities like Tokyo and Kyoto. The United States, Canada and the United Kingdom have issued warnings to travelers about bears in Japan.<\/p>\n Experts have attributed the phenomenon partly to climate change, with storms wreaking havoc on vegetation like beech trees, which produce the nuts that bears depend on. Bears have grown increasingly brazen in their quest for calories, venturing into urban centers in search of scraps.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s demographic changes have also exacerbated the problem. Farming communities used to serve as buffers, separating the mountains from more densely inhabited areas. But as Japan\u2019s population shrinks and ages<\/a>, and as young people move to cities, some rural areas have hollowed out. Bears are moving in, inching closer to human settlements.<\/p>\n