This photo shows a box trap which Japan Ground Self-Defense Force members set up to capture bears in Kazuno, Akita prefecture, northern Japan Wednesday, Nov. 5, 2025. (Muneyoshi Someya/Kyodo News via AP)

TOKYO (AP) — Japan deployed troops Wednesday to help contain a surge of bear attacks that have terrorized residents in a mountainous region in the northern prefecture of Akita.

Reports of sometimes deadly encounters with brown bears and Asiatic black bears are being reported almost daily ahead of hibernation season as the bears forage for food. They have been seen near schools, train stations, supermarkets and at a hot springs resort.

Since April, more than 100 people have been injured and at least 12 killed in bear attacks across Japan, according to Environment Ministry statistics at t

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