Why bear attacks are rising fast in Japan

Experts say bears are less afraid of humans as hunter numbers fall, pushing them beyond their traditional habitats in search of food.

Japan's love-hate relationship with bears

This week, a town north of Tokyo shut down nearly 100 schools following a spate of bear sightings. In another Japanese town last week, a bear attacked four people, opened a water tap and unlatched a window to escape a building it had been trapped in. So are bears becoming a bigger threat? FRANCE 24's Yuka Royer speaks with Kazuhiko Maita from the Institute for Asian Black Bear Research and Preservation, who has survived nine bear attacks himself, about what's behind the recent crisis in Japan.

By Yuka ROYER