Death by bear is far more likely in Japan than in North America, if the data are boldly interpreted and a few assumptions made, and this has probably been the case for more than a century. The Japanese bear seems to be a statistically significant outlier in the ursine world.

The math has been much the same regardless of what’s happening in the country. Whether the human population is rising or falling, whether Japan is unusually warm or cold, bears have been attacking and killing people at an alarming rate, from the remote corners of Hokkaido to the rural villages of Honshu.

Evidence suggests that the recent uptick — with 13 people killed by bears so far in the fiscal year that began April 1 — is less of an anomaly and more of a return to the historical range, and that the baseline for killer bears in Japan is exceptionally high. The records being set now might not be records.

“Japan likely has the highest number of bear-human incidents in the world,” says Koji Yamazaki, a professor of animal ecology at Tokyo University of Agriculture.

Something about bears in Japan sets them apart from their peers in other countries. Judging by news reports, videos and anecdotes, their attacks can be more random, more sustained and more vicious than bear attacks elsewhere. The assaults are sometimes characterized by almost cinematic brutality that belies the established narrative about the animal just wanting to be left alone.

Bears in Japan have at times stalked humans for days on end and attacked with a ferocity that indicates a more predatory behavior than defensive, fighting harder and longer, charging repeatedly and bluffing less. A newspaper deliveryman is dragged away while on his route. Campers are methodically pursued as they attempt an escape, picked off one by one. Hikers are plucked off the trail.

Multiple fatalities by a single bear over a short period of time are unusually common in Japan — two, three, four and, once, seven victims in a single incident.

Much of what can be said about the Japanese bear can be said about bears elsewhere in the world.