News Black Bear Onagawa (Onagawa Town), Miyagi, Miyagi Nov 25, 2025, 10:00 PM

Description

On the night of November 25, a resident in Onagawa, Miyagi reported photographing a bear and the town issued a warning on its official X account, but the provided image was found the next day to be AI-generated. The image had been created and sent as a prank by the reporter's colleague, and the town issued a correction and apology.

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

Summary

Onagawa issued a warning after a resident reported a bear sighting on the night of the 25th, dubbing it the first sighting in 15 years, but on the 26th the town confirmed the image was AI-generated. The image had been made as a prank by the reporter's colleague; the town corrected and apologized. While some online users called for legal action against the image provider, lawyers have said criminal charges are unlikely.

Bear Type

Black Bear

Number of Bears

1

Provider Type

News

Date & Time

Tuesday, November 25, 2025 at 10:00 PM

Address

Coordinates

38.441120, 141.444391

Sources