Man Missing after Being Attacked by Bear in Hokkaido, Friend Says He Was ‘Dragged’ into Bushes

The Yomiuri Shimbun
A helicopter hovers at halfway up Mt. Rausu to rescue a climber on Thursday.

The Yomiuri Shimbun

11:06 JST, August 15, 2025

SAPPORO — A man in his 20s was attacked by a bear, dragged into the bushes and has gone missing while hiking in a mountain on Hokkaido’s Shiretoko Peninsula on Thursday, police said.

According to the Hokkaido prefectural police, the missing man had been climbing Mt. Rausu (1,660 meters) with a friend and was attacked by a brown bear at an altitude of around 550 meters while descending the mountain. The friend called the police for help and was rescued by a police helicopter.

The friend told the police that he saw his friend resisting the bear and bleeding profusely from his leg, before being dragged into the bushes beside the trail.

Police have closed off the mountain trail and are searching for the missing man.