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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.
Americans are expected to spend more money heating their homes this winter than on holiday gifts, according to new research.
The elevated cost of staying warm indoors amid cold outdoor temperatures comes after an unusually hot summer, that led to households spending bigger shares of their budgets on cooling costs, compared with previous years, according to a report from the National Energy Assistance Directors Association (NEADA).
On average, spending on home heating this winter is projected to increase by 8.7% to $941, up from $866 last winter. The increased costs are attributed in part to both expected colder temperatures in the Northeast and Midwest states.
The new average expenditure on heating costs outpaces the $902 the average household is expected to spend on Christmas presents this year, according to a forecast from the National Retail Federation.
What’s driving up home heating costs?
There are different ways to keep residences warm. Families that use electricity to heat their homes are expected to face the largest increase in costs — more than 14% — which will bring the total up to $1,189 from $1,040 from mid-November through mid-March, which NEADA considers to be the winter period.
Driving up prices is the rising cost of updating and maintaining the electric grid. Plus, colder weather is expected to lead to increased consumption.
“It’s colder, and the cost of electricity is up as the grid is rebuilt. So we’re seeing both higher prices and greater usage,” NEADA Executive Director Mark Wolfe told CBS MoneyWatch.
Natural gas, propane and heating oil cost differences
Natural gas and propane users are also expected to be hit with bigger bills this winter. Heating costs for natural gas are up just over 3%, for an average cost of $634 for the winter period, compared with $615 for 2023-2024. Costs are expected to rise only modestly in line with wholesale prices.
Propane costs are up 4.4%, with families expected to spend an average of $1,231 heating homes, up from $1,179 last season.
Heating oil costs, by contrast, have declined 2.7%, which means average spending this winter will be $1,518, down from $1,560 last winter.
Early start to the season
November was colder than usual, with temperatures dropping prematurely after a “very expensive summer” of heat waves straining cooling resources, said Wolfe.
Blame climate change for the big swings in temperature, he added.
“Weather conditions can be very unpredictable even though over time, winters are getting warmer and summers are getting hotter. It’s not a straight line, and for consumers, it’s quite upsetting because higher utility bills are coming right before Christmas,” Wolfe said.
Steps to take now
There are steps consumers can take to help keep a lid on home heating costs.
Wolfe urges people to have their thermostats serviced now, before the coldest temperatures of the season roll in. That way, families won’t be on the hook for an emergency repair if their thermostat breaks in the middle of a cold front. A tune-up will also help heating systems run more efficiently, he said.
Always close the furnace flue, or else it will lead heat outside the house, advises Wolfe. Lastly, manually turn down the heat at night, if you can, to save up to 10% on your energy bill.
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There’s still time to become a mega-millionaire for Christmas, but lady luck will have to be on your side.
No one matched Mega Millions‘ all six winning numbers last Tuesday, and the jackpot now stands at $862 million ahead of Friday night’s drawing.
The jackpot has been rolling since it was last won at $810 million in Texas on Sept. 10.
If there is a sole winner, they have a choice between an annuity, with an initial payment and then 29 annual payments, or a one-time lump sum payment. Most winners choose a cash payout.
For Friday night’s drawing, that would be an estimated $392.1 million before taxes.
If won at that level, it would be the largest prize ever won in December and the seventh largest in Mega Millions history.
According to Mega Millions, 13 jackpots have been won during December since the game began in 2002. Three were won in the days after Christmas, while the other 10 were won before Christmas. There has never been a jackpot win on Christmas Day, although over the years drawings have been conducted on Christmas six times – in 2007, 2009, 2012, 2015, 2018 and 2020.
Mega Millions drawings are held on Tuesday and Friday, tickets cost $2. The odds of winning the jackpot are about 1 in 303 million.
