The city of Hachioji said on November 6 that an Asiatic black bear had been sighted in the Ozu district that day, and that traces of a bear had been found on a persimmon tree. The site is in a residential area of western Tokyo, not in the mountains.
According to the city, the bear was seen on private land about 100 meters south-southeast of the Mukaihashi bridge in Ozu, where houses are scattered nearby. It is about 200 meters south-southeast of the spot where a bear was culled in September under an emergency gun hunt — meaning another animal has now appeared close to that site.
Around 4 p.m. on November 6, a resident saw the bear in a persimmon tree eating the fruit and called the Takao police station. The station contacted the city, and at 5:30 p.m. city staff and a contractor confirmed bear traces, including claw marks, on the tree.
The city judged the situation to be crisis level 2 and will patrol the area with police. The landowner plans to prune the persimmon tree soon.