TOKYO: A woman in Japan was sent to hospital unconscious after an apparent bear attack outside a facility for people with disabilities, police said on Friday.

More and more wild bears have been spotted in residential areas in Japan in recent years, resulting in a rising number of attacks and deaths.

“A 73-year-old woman was found lying down with head injuries at the facility entrance on Thursday night,” a local police spokesman in the northern Akita region told AFP.

Emergency doctors told police they believed it was a bear attack based on the injuries the woman suffered, the spokesman said.

Security camera footage outside the facility showed a bear-like animal attacking the woman when she was walking with what appeared to be a garbage bag, he added.

“She was unable to talk due to injuries and was unconscious when sent to hospital.”

According to government data, bears attacked 85 people in the year ending March 2025, with three people killed.

In the previous year, there were 219 attacks and six deaths.

Akita region decided last week to extend its bear alert until September, citing “frequent bear sightings and high risk of encountering a bear”.

“Please take basic countermeasures and exercise the highest level of caution,” it warned residents.

Last month, a bear sighting prompted organisers of a golf tournament to cancel the opening day. And in June, a bear roaming the runway forced the Yamagata airport to cancel flights.

Climate change affecting food sources and hibernation times, along with depopulation caused by an ageing society, are causing bears to venture into towns more frequently, scientists say.

AFP