AKITA, Japan (Kyodo) -- Vehicle collisions involving bears in Akita Prefecture, northeastern Japan, surged to a record 118 this year as of October, more than five times the figure for all of last year, prefectural police said Tuesday.

It marks the highest annual total since comparable data became available in 2020, with 66 collisions recorded in October alone, when bears were frequently spotted roaming residential areas, the police told Kyodo News.

According to the police, although the animals fled the scene in many cases, the incidents were recorded as bear-related accidents based on driver interviews and other evidence. No human injuries have been confirmed this year.

There were 23 reported incidents the previous year, 101 in 2023, 13 in 2022, 34 in 2021, and 26 in 2020.

Of the 118 incidents this year, about 80 percent occurred on ordinary roads such as national and prefectural highways, while the rest took place on expressways.

The sharp rise in traffic accidents involving bears reflects a broader increase in sightings and encounters across Japan. Preliminary government data showed bear sightings topped 20,000 from April to September, the highest for the same period in the past five years.

Since April, 13 people have died after being attacked by bears, the most on record, while the government has confirmed attacks on more than 100 people through September.

On Tuesday, a 75-year-old man in Yonezawa, Yamagata Prefecture, sustained non-life-threatening injuries after being scratched on the cheek and shoulder by a bear about 80 centimeters long. He told police he turned around after hearing movement in the bushes behind him. A persimmon tree was nearby.