Passengers spend night on train after it collides with bear in Japan

Passengers on a train in Japan's northern Hokkaido were forced to spend the night on board after the express collided with a bear.

The limited service train got derailed after colliding with the bear around 10.50pm local time, according to Japan News.

It was carrying 34 passengers and crew members and travelling from Asahikawa to Wakkanai city.

None of the passengers or crew members suffered injuries. Passengers were transported from the spot around 9.30am on Saturday. It was not clear from reports whether the bear survived the accident.

Japan has witnessed a surge in dangerous bear encounters, with the animals entering homes, schools, supermarkets, and hot spring resorts.

There has also been a rise in bear attacks in Japan in recent years, which experts have linked to a growing bear population, climate-related food changes, depopulation in rural areas, and abandonment of farmland.

All these factors, they note, are pushing bears closer to human settlements.

Bears have killed a record 13 people nationwide last year and at least five between April and June this year.

Japan’s brown bear population has doubled over the past three decades to around 12,000, while Asian black bears on the main island of Honshu now number about 42,000, according to a 2025 government report.

The bigger brown bears, estimated to be about 12,000, are found on the island of Hokkaido, with males averaging 2m in length and weighing up to 400kg.

Tokyo, in September, announced the resumption of hunting of Asian bears after almost 20 years, which would allow hunters to cull 34 animals each year in western Tokyo and along the river routes into urban areas.

Last year, Japan deployed its military to the Akita prefecture to help contain an increase in deadly attacks as bear sightings in the region jumped sixfold to over 8,000.