General News

Woman in Iwate Pref. Dies After Being Attacked by Bear in Home; First Fatal Bear Attack in House This Year

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:03 JST, July 5, 2025

KITAKAMI, Iwate — An elderly woman was found dead on Friday morning after being attacked by a bear that broke into her house in Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture.

There were multiple injuries on her body believed to be caused by animal mauling. According to the Environment Ministry, this is the first fatal bear attack in a home this year.

Iwate prefectural police identified the victim as Seiko Takahashi, 81.

A family member who lives in different area found Takahashi lying in the living room at about 7:40 a.m. on Friday. Bear hair and tracks were found in the victim’s house.

Until now, 11 people had been injured in bear attacks in Iwate Prefecture since April, with no fatalities reported.

In the area where the woman was killed, 18 bear sightings had been reported to the local government and others since mid-May. On Thursday, a woman who lives near the site of the incident happened to see a bear in her house. The bear that was about 1 meter in length was rummaging through a bag of rice on the first floor. The woman then fled upstairs.

“I thought something like this could never happen to me, so it’s unbelievable that a bear came into my house,” she said.

Tokyo University of Agriculture’s Prof. Koji Yamazaki, who is familiar with bear ecology, said: “Another attack by a bear breaking into a home has occurred, following a similar incident in Iiyama, Nagano Prefecture. This is an unprecedented situation, so it is necessary to investigate the cause thoroughly to prevent another attack.”