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Bear encounters in Japan surge, residents change routines

An American academic in Gunma said he has encountered bears more than 100 times and been charged around a dozen times, prompting him to avoid the hills.

Reported · Written up by our desk · Asia

Bear encounters in Japan have surged in recent years, leading people in residential areas and on farmland to adjust daily routines, according to SCMP Economy.

An American academic living in Tokyo but with a lodge in Gunma, Jeff Kingston, said he has encountered bears in the hills more than 100 times and been charged by aggressive bears around a dozen times.

Kingston said a black bear attacked him in 2014, knocking him down and leaving a gash across his skull that required nine stitches, and he now carries bear spray and a baseball bat when he ventures out.

SCMP Economy reports that Japanese authorities have warned residents to take extra care as the animals prepare for winter.

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