JAPAN BATTLES FAKE AI IMAGES AMID RISING BEAR ATTACKS

Wed 12 November 2025:

Japan faces a dual crisis: the proliferation of fake AI-generated videos online, alongside surging bear attacks that are disrupting vital services like postal deliveries.

As the public continues to grow fearful of attacks, fake video clips showing aggressive bears are rapidly spreading on TikTok, YouTube, and other social media platforms, according to Kyodo News.

One AI-generated video shows a horde of bears destroying solar panels at a facility, while another depicts a bear snatching a pet dog.

Experts say the footage is clearly fabricated, but warn that such content can easily mislead people when mixed among real videos.

“Along with increasing news reports of the damage caused by bear attacks, the number of fake bear videos have also increased,” Chief editor of Japan Fact-Check Center, Daisuke Furuta said.

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At least 14 people have died nationwide in confirmed or suspected bear-related incidents this year, with dozens more injured. Five people were attacked in three prefectures on Sunday alone.

Amid the disturbing trend, Japan Post Co. decided last Wednesday that postal services could be suspended for the safety of its employees.

The following day, the company stopped its services in a part of Akita Prefecture, where frequent bear sightings and attacks have been reported.

Telecommunications firm NTT East also said it would review safety measures for workers operating in mountainous regions where bear sightings are frequent.

Japan’s military has sent soldiers to a rugged, mountainous area in the northern Akita Prefecture to assist in combating a dramatic rise in bear attacks that have left locals in fear.

Last Tuesday, Japan’s Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi stated that the troop deployment for the bear crisis is intended to safeguard residents’ everyday safety, though he emphasized that soldiers’ core duty remains national defense and their assistance in bear control cannot be indefinite.

In Akita Prefecture, home to roughly 880,000 people, bears have assaulted over 50 individuals since May, resulting in at least four deaths, per local authorities—with the majority of incidents happening in populated neighborhoods.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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