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Charging bear attacks karate practitioner in Japan: “I thought I should make my move or else I will be killed”
A pair of bears picked the wrong person to mess with Thursday in Japan when they approached a 50-year-old karate practitioner only to be kicked away, police and media said, marking the latest in a spate of attacks in the country in recent months.
Masato Fukuda was lightly injured in his encounter with the bears on Thursday morning in Nayoro city, on the northern island of Hokkaido, police told AFP.
The man was visiting from Japan’s central Aichi region to see a waterfall in Nayoro’s mountainous area when he chanced upon the two brown bears poking their faces out of bushes, the Mainichi newspaper reported.
One of them came towards him — but unfortunately for the animal, Fukuda was experienced in the martial art of karate, according to media reports.
“I thought I should make my move or else I will be killed,” he told a local broadcaster.
Fukuda kicked it in the face — twice — and in the process twisted his leg, but his attack swiftly scared away the hapless duo, reports said.
Both animals looked to be about five feet tall, according to media. Brown bears can weigh 1,100 pounds and outrun a human.
The incident comes about eight years after a karate black belt fended off a charging brown bear while he was fishing in Japan, the Mainichi newspaper reported. That man suffered bite and claw marks on the right side of his upper body, head and arms.
There were a record 193 bear attacks in Japan last year, six of them fatal, marking the highest number since counting began in 2006.
In November, a bear attack was suspected after a college student was found dead on a mountain in northern Japan. Last May, police said at the time that they believed the man was mauled and decapitated by a brown bear after a human head was found in the northern part of the island.
Experts told CBS News that there are primarily two reasons for the surge in attacks. First, a dry summer left fewer acorns and beech nuts — their main food — so hunger has made them bold. Second, as Japan’s population shrinks, humans are leaving rural areas, and bears are moving in.
“Then that area recovered to the forest, so bears have a chance to expand their range,” biologist Koji Yamazaki, from Tokyo University of Agriculture, told CBS News.
Last August, hunters killed an elusive brown bear nicknamed “Ninja” in the northern part of Japan after it attacked at least 66 cows, the Associated Press reported. And, in early October, local Japanese officials and media outlets reported that three bears were euthanized after sneaking into a tatami mat factory in the northern part of the country.
With Christmas only a few days away, many Americans may be dreaming of a white Christmas, but few will end up walking in a winter wonderland. The warm and above-average temperatures in the weather forecast across the continental U.S. for Christmas week of 2024 are expected to keep any precipitation that falls as rain, not snow, for many parts of the country.
Where is most likely to get snow on Christmas?
If you’re looking for fluffy white flakes, some spots have a better chance than others.
This year, the only parts of the U.S. likely to see a white Christmas will be in the Rocky Mountains and along the U.S. border with Canada. That includes some northern areas of North Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, upstate New York, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.
Weather forecast for holiday travel
For those who are trying to travel on Monday, the more difficult regions will be in the Upper Midwest and in the northern Rockies. Falling snowflakes can be found in states like Idaho, western Montana, northern Minnesota, Wisconsin and northern Michigan. Interstate travel will be hazardous through parts of I-15, I-90, I-84, I-94 and I-75.
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The wintry weather conditions shift from the Great Lakes region into the Northeast on Tuesday. Cold air pushes through to bring upwards of a half a foot of snow to the interior Northeast.
Moisture from the Gulf of Mexico will bring rain showers to the Mississippi Valley. In the West, the next atmospheric river will deliver rain to the lower elevations, with snow falling in the Cascade Mountains. Hazardous interstate travel conditions will be found along I-5, I-90, I-94, I-80, I-81 and even parts of I-95 up the East Coast.
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Map of snow forecast for Christmas Day 2024
On Wednesday, Christmas Day, not many locations will see the fresh snowfall of picture-book holidays.
The definition of a “white Christmas” by the National Weather Service is having at least 1 inch of snow on the ground on Christmas morning. The only areas likely to meet that qualification on Christmas Day this year will be in the Rockies and along the U.S.-Canada border.
The moisture from the atmospheric river in the West will move into the Rockies to bring light snow to the higher elevations.
CBS News
Elsewhere, rain showers stick around in the Mississippi Valley, making for a soggy Christmas Day. Temperatures are forecast to be well above the freezing mark most places, which means precipitation will mainly be rain. Messy travel on Christmas could be found along Interstate 40, I-55, I-40, I-70, I-80 and I-90.
On Thursday, the next round of weather moves into the Northwest. Lower elevation rain can be expected along I-5, while in the interior Northwest.heavier snowfall is forecast in the Cascades and down into the Sierra Nevada mountains. Lingering rain showers continue in the Mississippi Valley and into parts of the Midwest.
Are white Christmases getting rarer?
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has tracked snowfall data across the U.S. for years, and says there have been some notable changes over the past four decades, “consistent with the reality of long-term warming.”
When comparing the average probability of Christmas snowfall from 1981-2010 to the period from 1991-2020, NOAA says, “More areas experienced decreases in their chances of a white Christmas than experienced increases.”
The NOAA map below shows areas with the highest historic probability of seeing a white Christmas. Areas shaded in light blue have a higher than average chance, while the northern and mountain locations marked in white have historically had snow on Christmas at least 90% of the time.
NOAA/Climate.gov
You can explore an interactive version of the map on NOAA’s website here.
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Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington on bringing the untold story of “Six Triple Eight” to the big screen
Hollywood powerhouses Tyler Perry and Kerry Washington have joined forces to tell the remarkable story of the 6888th Postal Battalion, which was the only women’s Army Corps unit of color to be stationed in Europe during World War II. Perry — who wrote, directed and produced the film — describes “Six Triple Eight” as an important chapter in U.S. history.
The film centers on the women of the 6888th who were sent to Europe with the daunting task of delivering a backlog of nearly 17 million pieces of mail to U.S. soldiers and their families. The women not only completed the mission, but did so in just 90 days, defying expectations. Kerry Washington stars as Major Charity Adams, the real-life commanding officer of the unit and the highest-ranking Black female officer during the war.
At Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall near Washington, D.C., Perry and Washington discussed the significance of sharing this story.
Washington’s portrayal of Adams was a key part of the project. Perry explained his choice of Washington for the role, saying, “I thought, ‘Let’s show the world that there’s something so different here from you. I know they know Olivia Pope. But when we’re done, they’re going to see no one but Charity Adams.'”
The film also brought intense moments of historical reflection. Perry recounted a personal encounter with Lena King, one of the last surviving members of the 6888th, who was 99 years old at the time and home on hospice.
“I actually wanted all of the surviving members to see it,” he said. “Lena was the only one who got a chance to. I rushed a cut together and bought it to her.”
King’s reaction to the film was unforgettable for Perry.
“We watched it and she was in tears. And at the end of it, she’s saluting and she’s crying. And she says, ‘Tyler, thank you for letting the world know that black women contributed into war effort,'” Perry recalled.
Both Perry and Washington recognized the story’s importance, emphasizing that the women of the 6888th had been overlooked historically.
“There were 855 Black women and women of color who served in World War II, and no one knew it,” Perry said. Washington added, “And went overseas to represent this country.”
The film also explores the strength of these women who faced immense odds.
“It really is about exceeding expectations and being able to achieve against all odds and being able to stand up to people who don’t believe in you to say, ‘I believe in me. And I believe in we,'” Washington said.
You can stream “Six Triple Eight” on Netflix.
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