A body was found near to where a bear had been hunted in a wooded area in the city of Kitakami, Iwate Prefecture, at around 9 a.m. on Friday.
Iwate Prefectural Police believe that the body is that of a 60-year-old employee of an onsen (hot spring) facility located about 50 meters away.
The police have been searching for the employee, believing that he was attacked and carried off by a bear the previous day.
The bear that was hunted on Friday was a 1.5-meter male, according to the police.
On Thursday, the onsen reported to police at around 11:15 a.m. that the employee had gone missing. He had been cleaning an open-air bath, and items such as a pair of glasses and cleaning tools were found nearby.
Blood stains were also found on a rock near the entrance of the bath and under the surrounding fence, as well as hairs believed to be from an animal around the fence.
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