Japan is at warThere has been a spate of fatal bear attacks in 2025, with sightings of the animals reported almost daily, including in the northern city of Sapporo, but an old video circulating online does not show a recent encounter. The clip is actually taken from a report from four years ago.
The video was shared on Douyin on November 12, 2025, with a caption in simplified Chinese saying there has been an increase in the number of bear sightings in Sapporo recently.
It has since received more than 200 likes and shows a bear rampaging through a neighborhood and attacking a person.
Japanese text on the video also states that it shows a bear in a residential area injuring four people, including a member of the self-defense forces, as well as a date indicating Friday, June 18.
Screenshot of the fake Douyin video captured on November 20, 2025, with a red X added by AFP
The clip circulated alongside similar claims elsewhere on Douyin and QQ as well as in English and Japanese posts on TikTok.
The American Embassy in Tokyo posted a “wildlife alert” on its website warning people to avoid walking alone in areas where bears have been spotted or to stay away completely (archived link).
The embassy noted that local authorities closed a zoo adjacent to the US Consulate General in Sapporo following the discovery of a bear in the area.
Since April, animals have killed a record 13 people across the country, with a steady stream of reports of bears entering homes, roaming near schools and running amok in supermarkets.
The Japanese Ministry of the Environment also recorded 197 victims of bear attacks between April and October (archived link).
In October alone, 89 people — one 10 yearsup to their ears – were attacked by bears, killing seven people (archived link).
Infographic showing the natural range of Japan’s bears, the number of people injured and killed in encounters over the past decade, and the number of bears shot by prefecture between 2014 and 2025.
Scientists have blamed the increase in bears entering residential areas on a rapidly growing bear population, combined with this year’s poor acorn harvest and a decline in the human population (archived link).
But the video was actually filmed in 2021.
A reverse image search on Google revealed that the video was uploaded by Hokkaido Cultural Broadcasting on June 18, 2021 on TikTok, which matches the date seen in the video (archived link).
Screenshot comparison of fake Douyin post and TikTok video, captured on November 20, 2025
He reported a bear seen that day in a residential area of Sapporo, where three residents and a member of the self-defense forces were injured. He was then shot dead by a hunter from the hunting association.
A keyword search revealed that another Japanese media outlet, Hokkaido Television Broadcasting, also covered the attack on the same day (archived link).
The AFP had already refuted the allegations involving animals.
