Brown Bear Kills Newspaper Carrier in Residential Area of Hokkaido

The Yomiuri Shimbun

15:30 JST, July 12, 2025

A 52-year-old newspaper delivery worker was attacked and killed by a brown bear in the southern part of Hokkaido in the early hours of Saturday, police said.

According to the Hokkaido Prefectural Police, in the town of Fukushima, Hokkaido, a resident saw the bear dragging the man into the bush and call the police at around 2:50 a.m. on Saturday. About two hours later, a hunter rushed to the scene and found the man lying in the brush. The man was pronounced dead at the scene.

The victim Kenju Sato suffered injuries believed to have been inflicted by the brown bear.

Sato was killed in a residential area roughly 700 meters northeast of Fukushima town office, which is near a school and group home. The bear — reportedly measuring about 1 to 1.5 meters in length — has not yet been located. Police officers and hunters are searching around the vicinity of the attack and urging residents to remain indoors.