The victim of the alleged bear attack was killed by a son, police said

Japanese police said that an elderly man who said he had been killed by a bear had in fact been stabbed to death by his son.

Fujiyuki Shindo, 51, was arrested Tuesday in the prefecture of northern Akita for having allegedly murdered his 93 -year -old Fujiyoshi father, reports the local media.

Police sent an attack warning letter after the victim’s wife found him collapsing and bleed on the ground. But it was withdrawn after the investigators concluded that the injuries were more consistent with knife injuries.

Bear’s observations are increasingly common in northern Japan, where aging populations and narrowed agricultural land have meant that animals extend their habitat closer to human populations.

Mr. Shindo, who lived with his parents, initially told the police that he had not noticed anything unusual at home during the attack, the Kyodo News agency reported.

Investigators seized several knives from the family’s home and tried to identify the murder weapon, Jiji Press reported.

They did not give a reason for murder.

The bears were initially presumed to blame for the death of Fujiyoshi Shindo because Japan has experienced an increasing number of bear attacks in recent years. During the 12 months until March 2024, a record of 219 people was attacked by bears – and six of them died, said the Japanese environment.

In July, a newspaper delivery man was killed by a brown bear in a residential area.

The increase in bears also prompted the authorities to relax hunting laws to facilitate the shooting of bears.

Thousands of bears have recently been trapped and killed by hunters.