A suspected fatal wild bear attack occurred in Fukushima Town, Hokkaido, Japan, where a 52-year-old male newspaper delivery worker was killed after being attacked in the early morning hours of the 12th.
As the killer bear remains at large, police are urging local residents to avoid going outside as much as possible. In addition to police vigilance, local hunters have also joined the patrols, and the fire department has deployed drones to search for signs of the bear.
According to an NHK report, the incident took place in the Mitake area of Fukushima Town, about 700 meters from the Fukushima Town office. Before 3 a.m. on the 12th, local police received a report from residents stating that a man had been attacked by a bear in this area and dragged away. Police and local hunters arrived at the scene and found a man lying on the ground in a bamboo thicket not far west of the "Group Home Sunshine Garden." He was confirmed dead at the scene.
The deceased, Kenju Sato, lived nearby and worked as a newspaper deliveryman. The incident occurred while Sato was delivering newspapers in the early morning. According to police, multiple claw marks and other wounds were found on his body. The initial assessment is that it was caused by a bear, and further investigation into the circumstances of the incident is ongoing.
The newspaper sales office in Fukushima Town that employed Sato confirmed that Kenju Sato was a long-term employee. They stated that three days prior, Sato had reported encountering a wild bear while delivering newspapers, and at that time they had advised him to be extra cautious. The head of the sales office expressed shock and regret over the tragic incident.