Early morning delivery man dragged to death; bear attacks spark controversy in Japan

A newspaper deliveryman was killed after being attacked by a bear in a residential area in Hokkaido, Japan.

According to the Mainichi Shimbun on the 14th, newspaper deliveryman A (52) was attacked by a bear and died in a residential area in Fukushima-cho, Hokkaido in the early morning of the 12th.

A nearby resident who witnessed the incident waited for the bear to leave before reporting it to the police around 2:50 a.m. The witness said, "When I opened my front door, the bear was right in front of me, pouncing on a person." The bear was reportedly about 1.5 meters long.

Police found Mr. A lying bleeding in the woods near the scene. However, the bear was not found, and police and hunters from the local hunting association are currently working together to investigate.

This is the first time this year that a person has died from a bear attack in Hokkaido.

In Japan, wild bears frequently descend on residential areas and attack people. In 2023, six people were killed in bear attacks.

The Japanese government has stated that bear attacks are on the rise as human activity expands while bear food sources decrease.

They say that in Japan, there are many cases of hikers dying from bear attacks.

In our country, we also release bears and let them grow in the wild.

But are you really good at that?