Bear attacks in Japan are increasing at an alarming rate.

According to a report by Xinhua, which

cited Japanese local media on Sunday, the number of persons who have been attacked by bears in Japan in fiscal 2023 has increased at an unprecedented rate.

According to Kyodo News, which cited preliminary data from the environment ministry that was made public in early October, a total of 109 individuals were injured between April and September, including two people who lost their lives.

The majority of the injuries occurred in the northern region of Japan's main island, Honshu.According to the report, this constitutes the largest number for the same period since the beginning of the fiscal year 2007, when such monthly information first became available.

According to the data, there have been attacks reported in 15 of Japan's 47 prefectures during the six-month period beginning in April, with almost 70 percent of the occurrences occurring in northeastern Japan.According to Kyodo News, the prefecture of Akita had the highest fatalities, with 28 individuals, followed by Iwate and Fukushima, each of which had 27 and 13 fatalities, respectively.

In the meantime, the nut harvest has been disappointing this year, which is driving bears to search for food in wider areas, even closer to human settlements than usual, as they get ready to hibernate, according to the report.The number of individuals who were injured by the creatures, which include Asian black bears and Ussuri brown bears, reached 158 in the fiscal year 2020, setting a new record for the largest number ever recorded.