Bear Sighting Forces Closure of 94 Schools in Japanese City as Panic Spreads

Bear Sighting Forces Closure of 94 Schools in Japanese City as Panic Spreads

A rare wildlife encounter has triggered widespread disruption in a Japanese city after authorities ordered the suspension of all 94 public primary and middle schools following the first recorded bear sighting in the area.

In Utsunomiya, a city of roughly half a million people located about 100 km north of Tokyo, officials confirmed that a bear was spotted on Saturday evening in a residential neighbourhood near a park.

The animal was later seen again early Monday morning, this time about 500 metres from a middle school, before disappearing. It is still believed to be at large.

The city responded by shutting down all municipal primary and middle schools on Monday, citing safety concerns for students and staff.

The sighting has added to growing concern across Japan over increasing bear encounters in urban and suburban areas.

Just days earlier, at least four people were injured in a bear attack in Fukushima, where surveillance footage showed a black bear chasing a worker and throwing him to the ground at a factory site.

Experts say the rise in such incidents is linked to shifting environmental conditions.

Poor harvests of natural food sources like acorns and beechnuts, combined with rural depopulation and abandoned farmland, are pushing bears closer to human settlements in search of food.

Authorities have since intensified monitoring efforts as sightings become more frequent, raising concerns about public safety in once-unlikely urban encounters with wildlife.