Body Found near Inn Where Employee Went Missing in Apparent Bear Attack in Iwate Pref.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

14:52 JST, October 17, 2025

MORIOKA — A body was found on Friday morning in the mountains near an inn in Iwate Prefecture where a male employee had gone missing in what is believed to have been a bear attack, police said.

The police said that, based on the body shape and clothing, it is highly likely the body is that of the employee, who was apparently attacked and killed by the bear.

The man went missing after heading off to clean an open-air hot spring bath along a river in Kitakami in the prefecture.

A bear, believed to be an adult and about 1.5 meters long, was found next to the body and culled by a hunter from a local hunting club.