4 Japanese people attacked to death by bears

In the same area, four Japanese people were killed in a row by bears, Japanese media reported.

Two bears walking on the street of Japan's Hokkaido island

People in northern Japan have been warned to stay away from mountainous areas after four people were killed in recent bear attacks.

Akita prefectural police found the “torn” body of a woman suspected of being attacked by a bear in a mountainous area over the weekend. The victim, 74-year-old Tsuwa Suzuki, was so badly injured that local authorities were initially unable to identify her.

Suzuki, who lives in Aomori prefecture, went into the area alone to pick weeds, according to public broadcaster NHK.

Earlier, three men (two in their 70s and one in their 60s) were reported to have died after being seriously injured in bear attacks in the same area where Suzuki’s body was found. The men were reportedly searching for bamboo shoots when they were attacked, Japanese media reported.

All four people were likely killed by one bear, the veterinarian said.

Takeshi Komatsu, a local veterinarian, said it was possible that the four people were all killed by the same bear. "After eating a human for the first time, the bear may have realized that it could eat more," Komatsu told Kyodo news agency.

Officials have set traps and warned people not to go into the mountains to forage for plants. Local news sites have reported that the number of fatal bear attacks in Akita this year is already half the number from 1979 to 2015.

Reports of brown bear and black bear sightings in northern Japan have also increased to more than 1,200 this year, nearly double the number reported last year. In some cases, the bears have been spotted near residential areas.

In addition to Akita, in several other prefectures in Japan, there have been sightings of mother bears with their cubs, as well as reports of injuries from bear attacks.

The recent killings have reminded people of the bloody bear attacks in Japan, collectively known as Sankebetsu in 1915, when a 2.7-meter-tall, 340-kilogram brown bear killed seven people and injured three others on the island of Hokkaido.

The bear, which became a character in many novels, stage productions and even films, was later shot dead by a hunter.

According to Dan Viet