Japanese city captures bear that caused fear and school closures

Police are seen at a residential area where a bare showed up in Utsunomiya, north of Tokyo Tuesday, June 9, 2026. (Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO — A wandering bear that scared residents of a Japanese city just north of Tokyo was captured on Tuesday after several days of panic during which all schools were closed.

The bear was first spotted on Saturday near a park in Utsunomiya, a city north of Tokyo with a population of half a million.

City officials have said they received dozens of reports of bear sightings in the following days, including near a library, schools and a community center, causing them to close all city-run schools Monday and Tuesday.

The city issued bear warnings via social media and dispatched a public announcement vehicle, urging residents to take shelter inside buildings and vehicles if they encounter a bear, and to make sure to lock doors and windows and not to put out garbage at night.

On Tuesday afternoon, the bear was found on a private property and shot by a veterinarian with a tranquilizer gun, city official Ryuhei Irie said. Nobody was injured.

City officials used a drone Tuesday to track the animal down after it was spotted earlier in the day at a university campus, causing cancellations of all classes.

Officials believe there was only one bear but that they are investigating to be safe, Irie said.

The bear scare in Utsunomiya was the latest example of encroachment by Japan’s growing bear population in areas with an aging and declining human population.

Last week, another bear attacked four people in a residential area of Fukushima, in northeastern Japan, causing moderate injuries.

The Japanese government in March estimated the country’s overall bear population at around 57,800. Officials have adopted a road map for bear population management that calls for systematic culls.

Mari Yamaguchi, The Associated Press