By The Straits Times | Created at 2026-09-20 03:29:59 | Updated at 2026-09-20 10:56:19
7 hours ago
A bear climbed aboard a moored tuna fishing boat via its gangway and appeared to have dozed off before falling overboard and disappearing into the sea in the northern Japan city of Shiogama, Miyagi Prefecture, local police said on Sept 20.
Three crew members who were on the boat took refuge in a locked room and were unharmed.
According to the police, a bear approximately 1m tall boarded the boat in the fishing port around 8.30pm.
It appeared to have fallen asleep on the bow and has not been seen since falling into the sea after 1am, the police quoted the crew as saying. There had been reports of bear sightings in the area since Sept 18, the police said.
Elsewhere in Miyagi’s Iwanuma, a train struck a bear late on Sept 19, causing a temporary service suspension and delaying around 30 passengers on the Joban Line, JR East said. None of the crew or passengers were injured.
The bear became trapped under the train and it took nearly two hours for service to resume as workers removed the animal’s dead body from under the cars, it said.
Two trains in each direction were delayed, affecting about 490 passengers. KYODO NEWS
