TOKYO, June 8. International Consortium of Journalists JMH – Utsunomiya, a city north of Tokyo, closed 94 elementary and junior high schools after a bear was sighted in the municipality. The medium-sized black bear, approximately one meter long, was seen near a park last Saturday. 50,000 Bear Sightings in Japan: Utsunomiya city authorities are urging residents to keep their doors and windows locked, not to approach the bear if they see it, and to take refuge in the nearest building. The city has also deployed vehicles with loudspeakers to alert residents. Police and the local hunters' association resumed the search for the animal this morning. This year, a record 50,000 bear sightings have been recorded in Japan, concentrated in the northeast of the country. These animals are not usually seen so close to Tokyo. However, last month, a Russian hiker was injured by a bear in Okutama, on the western edge of the metropolitan area, while another appeared shortly afterward in the city o...