Japanese city closes all schools over bear sighting as attacks in the country on the rise
Asiatic black bear numbers are estimated to have tripled in Japan since 2012.
A Japanese city has closed all 94 local primary and middle schools after a bear sighting nearby, as attacks in the country rise.
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Officials in Utsunomiya, a city with half a million residents that is about 100km north of Tokyo, said the bear was first seen in a residential area near a park on Saturday evening.
The bear remains at large since last being seen on Monday morning about half a kilometre from a middle school.
Utsunomiya City officials are urging residents to keep their doors and windows locked, not to approach the bear if they see it and to take refuge in the closest building.
The city has also deployed public address vehicles to alert residents.
A record 50,000 bear sightings have been reported this year in Japan, concentrated in the north-east.
The animals have not usually been seen this close to Tokyo.
Bear attacks, including in urban areas, have been on the rise in Japan, prompting the government to set up a task force this year to reduce casualties.
Last week, a bear attack in the northeastern city of Fukushima left at least four people injured.
Security footage from Fukushima Steel Works shows a black bear chasing a worker by the entrance of the factory and throwing him to the ground.
Asiatic black bears are listed as a vulnerable species globally, but their numbers are estimated to have tripled in Japan since 2012, helped by a decline in hunting.
Experts say climate change has reduced harvests of bears' natural food like acorns and beechnuts, while the depopulation of rural areas and the proliferation of abandoned farmland have emboldened them to seek food near human settlements.