Utsunomiya closes schools following bear sightings

Authorities in the Japanese city of Utsunomiya, located 100 kilometers north of Tokyo, have closed 94 elementary and junior high schools following the first-ever sighting of a bear in the city. The animal was first spotted near a park on Saturday evening and was last seen on Monday morning approximately 500 meters from a junior high school. The bear currently remains at large. This incident follows a recent attack in Fukushima where a black bear injured four people near a steel factory. Experts attribute the rise in urban bear encounters to climate change reducing natural food sources, such as acorns, as well as the abandonment of rural agricultural land. While the Asiatic black bear is a protected species globally, their population in Japan has reportedly tripled since 2012 due to a reduction in hunting. The Japanese government has recently established a task force to manage the increasing frequency of bear encounters.