IRecord death toll from bears is not scary enough, experts say The torrent of AI-generated videos in Japan purporting to show people having close encounters with bears is only increasing public anxiety and could put people at greater risk.
While headlines about real-life attacks and chaos regularly appear, online content watchdogs are warning social media users not to be fooled by realistic videos on platforms like TikTok of animals attacking or interacting with humans.
Two of the most infamous clips show several bears destroying panels at a solar power plant and another bear running away with a domestic dog in its jaws. Other fake clips show a newsreader reporting a bear sighting in the local area and an elderly woman feeding fruit to a bear in a field.
Some depict people, including high school girls, wrestling with animals. This is the worst possible reaction if you encounter it. Japan’s Asiatic black bears can weigh up to 130 kg (287 lbs), while the Ussuri brown bear, commonly found in the northernmost tip of the main island of Hokkaido, can weigh up to 400 kg. And they can easily outrun humans.
Experts hope that most people will be able to tell the difference between real and fake content, but the sheer number of clips could further exacerbate fears that Japan is on the verge of an outbreak of urushi terrorism.
There are also concerns that the videos could undermine the government’s message about what to do if you encounter a bear in the wild, or in a town or other urban area where it is foraging.
The Yomiuri Shimbun searched for the words “bear” and “video” on TikTok and found that about 60% of the 100 selected clips were fake and created using OpenAI’s video generator.
The clip had a Sora watermark indicating it was created using US-based technology, which some posters said indicated the post was not authentic.
However, some were so realistic that it was difficult for users to distinguish between fact and fiction.
Some clips included details that added credibility, such as references to locations where bear sightings made the news.
One “report” claimed that a bear had been captured after entering a convenience store in Noshiro, Akita Prefecture, but authorities quickly pointed out that there was no such incident.
Another AI-generated video showed people running away from a bear on the streets of Ishikawa Prefecture, a claim authorities denied and urged residents to ignore information not released by local authorities.
Despite repeated warnings not to bring food when hiking in the forest, experts are particularly concerned about content that shows people feeding animals.
Experts say the reason for the sudden increase in bear sightings is a poor harvest of acorns and beech nuts, which make up a large part of the bears’ diet. Compounding the problem is the diminishing natural border that once separated forests and urban areas, which has been blurred by decades of rural depopulation.
In the face of food shortages, animals are moving further away from their natural habitats and into residential areas.
“Feeding bears is very dangerous and may cause them to lose fear of humans,” Shinsuke Koike, a professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, told Yomiuri.
The number of fake videos has skyrocketed in recent weeks as users seek to capitalize on public interest amid numerous media reports of sightings and attacks.
According to the Ministry of the Environment, a record 13 people have been killed in bear attacks in Japan this year, more than double the previous record, and more than 100 people have been injured. Approximately 20,700 bear sightings were reported nationwide from April to September, an increase of approximately 7,000 from the same period in 2024.
The disruption to daily life in areas of northern Japan where bear encounters are concentrated is undeniably real.
Japan Post recently suspended collections and deliveries in parts of Akita Prefecture, where the Self-Defense Forces have been dispatched to help licensed hunters capture and dispose of bears.
Telecommunications company NTT East plans to review safety regulations for technicians who must go into the mountains to maintain and repair communication towers, while logistics company Yamato Transport said it may suspend parcel services if it determines its employees are at risk.
