In recent years, Japan has seen an increasing number of bear sightings and attacks, especially in urban areas.
A record 13 people were killed by bears in Japan last year, and there has been a jump in encounters as the animals emerge hungry from hibernation.
In the last year to March, bear sightings nationwide topped 50,000 – more than double the previous record set two years earlier, according to official data.
In Utsunomiya, a regional capital and home to 510,000 residents, there were just two unconfirmed bear sightings in the previous year.
The bear now being hunted was first spotted Saturday morning, north of the city centre, and was described as being around 1m long.
A series of sightings followed, including in a residential neighbourhood that day, at a shopping arcade on Sunday, and at a park, a high school and a junior school.
Early Monday, residents spotted a bear close to a wholesale market, the city official said.
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