Monkey Missing Left Hand Spotted in Yamanashi Pref. After Sightings in Tokyo, Kanagawa

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:21 JST, December 20, 2024

Reports of monkey sightings poured in on Thursday in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi Prefecture, at the foot of Mt. Fuji. The sightings are believed to be of the “monkey with no left hand,” which has been spotted in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefecture since October, according to Fujiyoshida’s city government, which is calling for caution.

The monkey was seen at the Fujisan Museum, a museum of history and folklore, around 10 a.m. on Thursday, the city said. The monkey was about 50 centimeters tall and was missing its left hand. It was sitting in front of an automatic door to the museum and was not moving.

About 60 people were inside the museum at the time, and after museum staff took measures to keep the automatic door from opening, the monkey left the area. The city later received reports from people who said they had seen the monkey.

Since October, the monkey with no left hand has been spotted in the northern part of Tokyo’s 23 wards and the Tama region, and was later seen in Kanagawa Prefecture. This week, there were also many sightings of a similar looking monkey in Oyama, Shizuoka Prefecture, which is next to Fujiyoshida.