An elderly man in his 70s has been found dead in the woods of Iwate, Japan, after a suspected bear attack. The man had gone missing while harvesting mushrooms, and his body was discovered with severe scratch marks.
Local police confirmed the death on Friday, stating that the injuries were consistent with a bear attack. According to broadcaster TV Iwate, the victim's head and torso were separated in the incident.
This tragedy is part of a rising number of bear attacks in Japan. In the past week alone, three attacks have been reported. On Wednesday, another person was attacked by a bear in a different part of Iwate after finding a dead body.
On Tuesday, two men were injured when a bear entered a supermarket in Gunma, north of Tokyo. CCTV footage showed shoppers fleeing as the bear roamed the aisles. Additionally, a Spanish tourist was attacked at a bus stop in Shirakawa-go on Sunday.
Japan's environment ministry reported that bear attack fatalities reached six in April this year, matching a record high from 2023. The increase is attributed to factors such as a declining human population and climate change, which drive bears into residential areas.
Among recent fatal attacks was a woman in her 70s who died last week while picking mushrooms in northern Miyagi with three friends, one of whom remains missing. Between April and September, 103 people were injured by bears across Japan.
