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[Breaking News]Kanji for "bear" chosen as best to characterize 2025

KYOTO, Japan, Dec. 12 Kyodo - Seihan Mori, chief Buddhist priest of Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji character "kuma," meaning bear, with a calligraphy brush during the annual kanji-of-the-year event on Dec. 12, 2025. The character was chosen to symbolize the national mood for the year due to frequent bear sightings and related incidents across Japan, as well as attention to the return of pandas - written with characters meaning "bear" and "cat" - to China. (Kyodo)

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Kanji for "bear" chosen as best to characterize 2025

KYOTO, Japan, Dec. 12 Kyodo - Seihan Mori, chief Buddhist priest of Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji character "kuma," meaning bear, with a calligraphy brush during the annual kanji-of-the-year event on Dec. 12, 2025. The character was chosen to symbolize the national mood for the year due to frequent bear sightings and related incidents across Japan, as well as attention to the return of pandas - written with characters meaning "bear" and "cat" - to China. (Kyodo)

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Bear sighting in Iwate Pref.

A white-chested bear climbs a persimmon tree near a house in Iwaizumi in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Nov. 18, 2025, amid frequent bear sightings in Japan.

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Kanji for "bear" chosen as best to characterize 2025

Seihan Mori, chief Buddhist priest of Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji character "kuma," meaning bear, with a calligraphy brush during the annual kanji-of-the-year event on Dec. 12, 2025. The character was chosen to symbolize the national mood for the year due to frequent bear sightings and related incidents across Japan, as well as attention to the return of pandas - written with characters meaning "bear" and "cat" - to China.

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Kanji for "bear" chosen as best to characterize 2025

Seihan Mori, chief Buddhist priest of Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji character "kuma," meaning bear, with a calligraphy brush during the annual kanji-of-the-year event on Dec. 12, 2025. The character was chosen to symbolize the national mood for the year due to frequent bear sightings and related incidents across Japan, as well as attention to the return of pandas - written with characters meaning "bear" and "cat" - to China.

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Kanji for "bear" chosen as best to characterize 2025

Seihan Mori, chief Buddhist priest of Kiyomizu temple in Kyoto, writes the kanji character "kuma," meaning bear, with a calligraphy brush during the annual kanji-of-the-year event on Dec. 12, 2025. The character was chosen to symbolize the national mood for the year due to frequent bear sightings and related incidents across Japan, as well as attention to the return of pandas - written with characters meaning "bear" and "cat" - to China.

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Rising bear sightings in Japan

A white-chested bear runs on a riverbank in Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, on Oct. 23, 2025, amid rising bear encounters in Japan.

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Rising bear sightings in Japan

Photo taken on Oct. 20, 2025, shows a bear in central Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, amid a surge of bear encounters in residential areas of Japan.

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Rising bear sightings in Japan

Photo taken on Nov. 8, 2025, shows bear warning signs at Akita airport in Akita, northeastern Japan, amid a surge of bear encounters in residential areas of Japan.

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Rising bear sightings in Japan

Photo taken on Oct. 23, 2025, shows a bear in central Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, amid a surge of bear encounters in residential areas of Japan.

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Rising bear sightings in Japan

Photo taken on Oct. 23, 2025, shows a bear in central Morioka in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan, amid a surge of bear encounters in residential areas of Japan.

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Bear sightings in northern Japan

Photo taken in October 2025 shows a signboard set up at a park in Hokuto in Hokkaido, northern Japan, announcing the cancellation of an autumn foliage illumination event amid a recent spate of bear attacks in the region.

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Bear sightings in northeastern Japan

Photo taken on Nov. 7, 2025, shows a signboard set up along a road in Kazuno in Akita Prefecture, warning of bear sightings following a recent spate of bear attacks in the northeastern Japan prefecture.

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Bear sightings in northeastern Japan

Photo taken on Nov. 11, 2025, shows a signboard placed on a trail in Akita, northeastern Japan, warning of bear sightings following a recent spate of bear attacks in the region.

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Off-limit park after bear sightings

Photo taken on Nov. 7, 2025, shows Senshu Park in the city of Akita in Akita Prefecture to which public access is prohibited after bears were sighted amid a recent spate of attacks on humans in the northeastern Japan prefecture.

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Off-limit park after bear sightings

Photo taken on Nov. 7, 2025, shows Senshu Park in the city of Akita in Akita Prefecture to which public access is prohibited after bears were sighted amid a recent spate of attacks on humans in the northeastern Japan prefecture.

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Japan: Bear Incidents Spike in Northern Regions Ahead of Hibernation Season 5

Bear incidents have been increasing in northern Japan. Between April 2025 and March 2026, seven people were killed, marking the highest number of fatalities since records began in 2006. Bears become more active in the autumn before hibernation, so the Ministry of the Environment is urging people to exercise caution.

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Japan: Bear Incidents Spike in Northern Regions Ahead of Hibernation Season 4

Bear incidents have been increasing in northern Japan. Between April 2025 and March 2026, seven people were killed, marking the highest number of fatalities since records began in 2006. Bears become more active in the autumn before hibernation, so the Ministry of the Environment is urging people to exercise caution.

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Japan: Bear Incidents Spike in Northern Regions Ahead of Hibernation Season 3

Bear incidents have been increasing in northern Japan. Between April 2025 and March 2026, seven people were killed, marking the highest number of fatalities since records began in 2006. Bears become more active in the autumn before hibernation, so the Ministry of the Environment is urging people to exercise caution. This video was shot in Shari, Hokkaido on October 16.

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Japan: Bear Incidents Spike in Northern Regions Ahead of Hibernation Season

A wild bear was spotted running on the sidewalk in Morioka City, Iwate Prefecture on Thursday, October 16. Bear incidents have been increasing in northern Japan. Between April 2025 and March 2026, seven people were killed, marking the highest number of fatalities since records began in 2006. Bears become more active in the autumn before hibernation, so the Ministry of the Environment is urging people to exercise caution.

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Japan: Bear Sightings Surge Across Country, Fatalities Reported 2

Japan recorded 55 bear attacks between April and July 2025, leaving three people dead and dozens injured. Authorities say sightings have surged nationwide, including 154 cases in Tokyo by August 21, as a growing Asiatic black bear population increasingly pushes into towns and cities. This vides shows a bear spotted in Yuzawa, Akita Prefecture, northeast Japan on August 12, 2025.

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Japan: Bear Sightings Surge Across Country, Fatalities Reported

Japan recorded 55 bear attacks between April and July 2025, leaving three people dead and dozens injured. Authorities say sightings have surged nationwide, including 154 cases in Tokyo by August 21, as a growing Asiatic black bear population increasingly pushes into towns and cities. This vides shows a bear spotted in Taiwa, Miyagi Prefecture, northeast Japan on August 15, 2025.

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Bear family seen in Hokkaido

Photo taken on May 14, 2025, shows a bear and two cubs walking on a road in Shiretoko National Park in the northern Japanese town of Shari in Hokkaido. In Japan, sightings of bears coming down to populated areas in search of food, as well as reports of attacks on humans by the animals, are on the rise.