Japanese City Closes 94 Schools After Multiple Bear Sightings

Overview

• Utsunomiya officials suspended classes at all 94 elementary and secondary schools after a cluster of sightings that began on Saturday and included reports inside a shopping center and near schools.
• Dozens of hunters, police and municipal staff were deployed to search residential areas, parks and a wholesale market while patrol vehicles warned residents to stay inside or remain in their cars.
• Local authorities said the bear remained at large after a morning sighting roughly 500 meters from a secondary school, and television footage later showed hunters sedating and caging an animal in a residential garden.
• The episode comes as national data show a sharp rise in bear encounters, with more than 50,000 reported sightings in a recent 12‑month span and a record 13 fatal attacks last year, prompting a government task force earlier this year.
• Wildlife experts link the surge to a growing Asian black bear population, reduced hunting, seasonal food shortages after hibernation and abandoned farmland that push bears toward settlements, raising risks for people who live near forests.