Japan: Bear Causes Cancellation of 10 Flights

Japanese Broadcasting Corporation announced on Thursday the sighting of a bear at Yamagata Airport in the northern part of the country, leading to the closure of the airport runway and the cancellation of 10 flights.

The airport management reported that the bear was spotted on the airport grounds at exactly 7 a.m. local time (01:00 Moscow time), and airport staff tried to drive it away on their own, but the bear was seen again near the runway around noon.

The Japanese Broadcasting Corporation reported that the incident forced the airport management to close the runway, resulting in the cancellation of 10 flights.

According to the channel, airport authorities had to call in experts from a local hunting organization and set up a trap to capture the bear. As of 6 p.m. local time (12:00 Moscow time), the animal had not been captured.


Reports from the channel indicate that staff will resume inspections of the airport area on Friday morning, and a decision to resume flights will be made after assessing the safety situation.

Some experts believe that climate change and food shortages in forests may sometimes drive bears to venture into populated areas in search of food.