Bear Enters High School Baseball Indoor Practice Field, Climbs Netting Before Fleeing

The Yomiuri Shimbun

12:24 JST, October 30, 2025

YAMAGATA — A bear entered the indoor practice field of the baseball club at Tokai University Yamagata Senior High School in Yamagata and was spotted by a club member on Wednesday.

The bear climbed the netting on the field and then ran outside into the bushes on the riverbank near the school. No injuries were reported.

Another member saw the bear from a dormitory near the practice field. He said: “I thought I saw something black and realized it was a bear. There have been more and more sightings lately, but I didn’t think I’d see one so close.”