Elderly and Disabled Among Victims in Recent Bear Attacks Across Japan

By Barrier Free Japan

August 23 2025

JAPAN – A 73-year-old woman, a resident of a group home for people with intellectual disabilities in Kitaakita City, has died from injuries sustained in a bear attack late last month, highlighting growing concerns over the safety of Japan’s most vulnerable populations amid a surge in bear encounters.

The victim, identified as Hideko Miura, was found bleeding and collapsed near the entrance to Tsutsuji, a residential facility for the disabled, shortly before midnight on July 31. She suffered severe wounds to her head and face consistent with a bear mauling. Miura was transported to a local hospital but never regained consciousness and passed away on the morning of August 20. Police confirmed her death was the result of the attack.

Local officials noted that this marks the first fatal bear attack in Akita Prefecture this year.

Her death comes amid a spate of similar incidents across Japan that have disproportionately affected older citizens. On July 4, an 81-year-old woman was fatally mauled by a black bear in Iwate Prefecture. Just days later, on July 15, two more elderly women were injured in separate attacks—one in northern Aomori and another near the historic city of Nara, over 600 kilometers to the south.

Experts warn that Japan’s aging rural population, combined with food shortages that drive bears closer to human settlements, has created conditions where elderly and disabled residents are especially at risk.

Authorities continue to urge caution in rural and semi-urban areas, and hunting restrictions have been eased to allow for emergency bear culls when human life is threatened.