The body of a woman was found in the northeastern prefecture of Iwate on Tuesday after a police officer was injured in a bear attack nearby, police said.
If confirmed as a fatal bear attack, it would be the first such death in Japan since Nov 3 in Yuzawa, in neighboring Akita Prefecture, according to the Environment Ministry.
Thirteen people were killed by bears in Japan in the whole of 2025. Between July and October, five people were killed in bear attacks in Iwate, four of them in October alone, ministry data showed.
The 56-year-old police officer encountered a bear at a stream in Shiwa on Tuesday morning while searching for a missing person, the police said, adding that the body of an adult woman was later found a short distance away. The officer sustained injuries on his arm and face.
A hunter who was accompanying the search team killed the female bear, according to authorities. The bear was 1.3 meters in length and appeared to be an adult.
Police officers were searching for the owner of a vehicle found on a road with its engine running late Monday afternoon.
© KYODO
