Overview
- The bear attacked workers at two factories and a nearby resident on Tuesday, June 2, injuring four people whose wounds include facial fractures but are not life‑threatening.
- It sheltered inside an Oki Sympho‑Tech electronics factory, where evidence suggests it released a window latch, pushed the pane open and was seen drinking from a faucet before fleeing late on Wednesday night.
- Responders set four box traps, fired a tranquillizer dart that failed to deliver sedative, deployed drones and prepared emergency hunting measures, but the animal remained at large as of the morning of June 5.
- Local schools switched to online classes and city officials urged vigilance while Mayor Yuki Baba expressed regret and called the bear “extremely intelligent” for its actions inside the factory.
- The case reflects a broader national trend of rising human‑bear conflict—officials reported about 50,000 sightings in the last fiscal year and 13 fatal attacks in 2025—which has prompted a government roadmap to expand trapping, culling and bear‑control staff.