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A woman's body was found by authorities in northeastern Japan's Iwate prefecture, shortly after a police officer was injured in a bear encounter while searching for a missing person in the area.

The 56-year-old officer suffered wounds to his arm and face after coming across the animal near a stream on Tuesday.

He remained conscious while being taken to the hospital, local authorities said on Tuesday. Authorities believe the bear was an adult. A short distance away, the search team later found the woman's body.

A hunter accompanying the team shot and killed the bear, an adult measuring about 1.3m.

Mainichi Shimbun reported that the police officers were searching for the driver of a vehicle found on a road with its engine running late Monday afternoon when the bear attacked the officer.

If the death is officially confirmed as a bear attack, it would mark Japan's first such fatality of 2026, following a series of incidents in recent years. The details of whether the injuries on the woman's body were in line with bear attack could not be ascertained.

The last bear attack occurred on 3 November last year in Yuzawa, in neighbouring Akita prefecture, according to the environment ministry.

Bear encounters in Japan have become increasingly dangerous, with 13 deaths recorded nationwide since April last year, including several in Iwate alone. Hundreds were injured. Five people were killed in bear attacks between July and October last year in the prefecture - four of them in October alone, the government data shows.

Source: Independent