Japanese town reeling from year of record bear encounters

Bears are becoming a growing problem in some of Japan's urban areas as they are forced to venture further in search of food

It came as no surprise, least of all to the residents of Osaki, that bear" was selected as Japan's kanji character of the year earlier this month.

The north-eastern town of 128,000 people is best known for its Naruko Onsen hot springs, autumn foliage and kokeshi - cylindrical dolls carved from a single piece of wood. But this year it has made the headlines as a bear hotspot, as the country reels from a year of record ursine encounters and deaths, with warnings that winter will not bring immediate respite.