More than 14,000 bears were killed in Japan during the fiscal year ending in March. This total represents a historic record, according to preliminary data published by the Japanese government.

Bear attacks claimed 13 lives in the archipelago last year, more than double the previous record. And since the beginning of 2026, one fatal attack has already been confirmed, and two other deaths have been potentially caused by bears.

The number of bears captured and killed has almost tripled compared to the previous year, reaching 14,601, an average of 40 per day. This is a historic record, far surpassing the previous peak of just over 9,000 in 2023, according to data from the Ministry of the Environment published on Monday.

During the fiscal year ending March 31, authorities also confirmed more than 50,000 bear sightings nationwide, more than double the previous record set two years earlier, the same data shows.

Some northern regions also reported more than four times as many sightings in April as at the same time last year, as animals emerge from hibernation, local media reported.

Last year, bears were seen entering homes, wandering near schools, and ransacking supermarkets and spas almost daily.

Scientists believe the bear population has increased significantly in recent years, while the number of people living in rural areas has decreased. Bears are thriving thanks to an abundance of food—including acorns, deer, and wild boar—influenced by a warming climate, experts say. This "overpopulation" has forced bears away from the mountains—which cover about 80% of Japan—and into inhabited areas, they add.

The number of Asian black bears has increased, reaching 42,000 individuals on the main island of Honshu alone, according to a 2025 government report, while the brown bear population has doubled in three decades in Japan and now stands at around 12,000 individuals.