Hunter missing in Japan as spate of bear attacks triggers emergency to be declared in northern town

A brown bear hunts salmon on Shiretoko river in Hokkaido, Japan. A hunter has gone missing after a spate of bear attacks across the country. Photograph: Kimimasa Mayama/EPA

Authorities in Japan are searching for a hunter who went missing on a mountain in Hokkaido near where a brown bear was recently spotted, amid a spate of deadly attacks by the animals that has triggered the declaration of a bear emergency in one town.

The hunter was reported missing by a friend on Mt Esan on Tuesday afternoon in the northern island of Hokkaido after he failed to return home. A rifle believed to belong to the missing man was found on the side of a mountain road, and bloodstains were discovered nearby. A large brown bear was seen near the road on Saturday.