News Black Bear Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Jan 9, 2026, 02:00 PM

Description

Around 23:00 on January 9 in Minamisanriku Town, Miyagi Prefecture, a bear about 1.2 m long entered a residential storage shed, put its head into a blue bucket containing household garbage, and ransacked the shed for about three minutes. When staff arrived at the shed they encountered the bear, which did not appear startled and did not flee.

Note: Official sources provide information in Japanese only. This description has been machine translated for your convenience.

Summary

In January, when bears are normally hibernating, a roughly 1.2 m bear was filmed entering a residential storage shed in Minamisanriku Town and rummaging through garbage at night. The animal remained for about three minutes without reacting to a motion-activated light and came face-to-face with staff who arrived on scene. Experts suggest young bears whose mothers have been culled may be appearing in populated areas because they have not learned to hibernate.

Bear Type

Black Bear

Number of Bears

1

Provider Type

News

Date & Time

Friday, January 9, 2026 at 02:00 PM

Address

Coordinates

38.680891, 141.462585

Sources