The perpetrators are between 2 and 3 feet tall, on all fours. On their hind legs, they can reach up to 7 feet. They’re furry. They love food. They are — you guessed it by now — bears.
An area of northeastern Japan is seeing a spate of attempted — and sometimes successful — 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.
One bear “came inside, right where my father happened to be sleeping,” Yuta Matsubara told a Japanese news outlet. “He noticed the bear, turned around, and shouted loudly, causing it to go back outside.”
The bear came back later to try again, which was captured on video.
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.
Not only are the perpetrators savvy — it is possible that they are repeat offenders. The video, local media reported, showed one of five attempts that week. “It’s truly terrifying. I showed this video to the town office,” Mr. Matsubara told TV Asahi. “This is an individual bear that has learned how to open sliding doors and enter people’s homes.”
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’s traditional belief in harmonious coexistence with nature.
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.
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.
Japan’s 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’s population shrinks and ages, and as young people move to cities, some rural areas have hollowed out. Bears are moving in, inching closer to human settlements.
In the Akita prefecture, which borders Iwate, there has also been a rise in attacks by black bears. Last year, they were linked to more than 50 attacks and four deaths in the region.
Japan is instituting measures to deal with the issue. Late last year, the government sent troops to hard-hit areas to help set bear traps. Riot police joined forces with the thinning ranks of hunters to track and kill the animals.
Japan also amended its strict gun laws to make it easier for hunters to shoot bears in residential areas. Drills have been held in rural areas, to help train locals in how to shoot a bear in an emergency.
The public is also learning to adapt. In some parts of Japan, stores have changed their schedules to open later and close earlier. The delivery of mail has been suspended in some areas. Commuters carry bells and bear spray. Children no longer walk alone to school.
Hisako Ueno contributed reporting from Tokyo.
