Deutsche Welle6/2/2026Crime1 min read

Black bear rampage in Fukushima wounds four

Quick Look

A black bear injured four people in Fukushima, Japan, on Tuesday.
Two employees at Fukushima Steel Works were bitten, followed by a man in his 60s and a woman in her 80s.
One victim was seriously wounded, while the others sustained mild injuries.

AI-generated summary

Why It Matters

A black bear rampage in Fukushima, Japan, on Tuesday wounded four people. The bear first attacked two employees at Fukushima Steel Works, then a man in his 60s and a woman in her 80s in the same neighborhood. One victim was heavily wounded, while the others had mild injuries. The bear has not been caught and is believed to be in a second company building, surrounded by police.

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A rampage by a black bear wounded four people in Japan's northeastern city of Fukushima on Tuesday, according to authorities and media reports.

What do we know about the rampage?

The bear first injured two employees at the Fukushima Steel Works company, with the local police and fire department being deployed to the scene of the attack. Authorities had received a call from the company that "employees had been bitten."

The bear then attacked another man in his 60s at a separate firm. It also attacked a woman in her 80s who lives in that same neighborhood.

Only one of the victims of the bear was heavily wounded. The rest of the victims were inflicted with only mild injuries.

The bear has not yet been caught by authorities and is believed to be inside the second company where it was last seen. Police officers wielding long sticks have surrounded the company grounds.

Bear attacks raise the alarm for Japanese authorities

Bear attacks are on the rise in Japan.

Japan's Environment Ministry said a record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year.

The governor of Japan's northern Akita Prefecture last year even requested formal military support to protect residents from the attacks.