A bear was captured on video in a rural residential area early on the morning of September 10 in Yabu, Hyogo Prefecture, western Japan.

When the animal noticed the person who was taking the video, it stood on its hind legs and walked backward.

S/ Man who took the video / When it stood up, the bear was about a meter tall, so I thought it would be frightening if it came this way.

The witness is a newspaper delivery man.

S/ Man who took the video / It came from the front of that house on the left, passed the road here and went to the slope to this house. It didn't look like it was about to leave the area.

A local resident also saw the bear.

S/ Local resident / I've seen bears dozens of times, but it was the first time I saw one standing on its hind legs.

S/ Local resident / I think it would be scary to encounter a bear.

Yabu city officials have placed cage traps in an attempt to catch bears.

In the same city in July this year, a man in his 70s was attacked by a bear and sustained severe injuries including on his face and arms.

City officials said they have received 84 reports of bear sightings this year as of September 11, about four times as many as in a usual year.

The Hyogo prefectural government announced on September 12 that the production of acorns and other tree nuts that bears feed on will be at the lowest level in 14 years.

Officials are warning people to be careful as there could be more bear sightings from now on.