A man in rural Japan found a bear hiding in his living room, local media reported Tuesday, as the government prepares to relax laws against shooting the fearsome creatures.
Reports say a man in the snowy Fukushima region on Monday evening found a bear lying under his kotatsu – a low table with a heating element underneath and a blanket around it that is common in Japanese homes.
The man was quoted as saying, “I came home from work and there was a bear with its head stuck in the kotatsu.” The bear was reported to be approximately 90 centimeters (three feet) long.
The man, who is in his 60s and lives alone, ran to a neighbour’s house and called the police and returned more than an hour later to find the bear and its food scattered around.
According to Kyodo News, police urged nearby residents to evacuate or lock their doors. There is no report of anyone being injured.
Public broadcaster NHK said around noon Tuesday that the bear was still inside the house, with police footage showing the bear amid tall trees and heavy snow around the residence.
It was the latest in a series of human encounters with bears in recent years that have prompted the Japanese government to propose relaxing restrictions on shooting the animals.
The plan, set to take effect next year, would give local governments the power to authorize hunters to conduct “emergency shootings” even in more populated areas.
Experts say hungry bears are moving closer to cities due to the declining human population in Japan’s rural areas.
Other factors include climate change affecting the food supply of omnivores and their hibernation period. This summer was equal to the record for Japan’s hottest summer.
Attacks in Japan last fiscal year resulted in a record six human deaths and killed more than 9,000 bears.
Earlier this month, a bear went on a two-day rampage at a supermarket in the northern Akita region after being lured by honey-coated food.
Before shoppers were evacuated and the bear ravaged the meat department, it injured a 47-year-old man in the supermarket.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
