At the beaches along an idyllic coastal stretch of central Japan, lifeguards scan the water, poised to call swimmers back to shore at the hint of a fin. Sharp teeth shown on posters warn beachgoers to be careful because, for the third year running, there is danger in the water.

       No, it’s not sharks. It’s dolphins. Possibly just a single lonely, sexually frustrated dolphin.

       In Wakasa Bay, about 200 miles west of Tokyo, dolphin attacks have injured at least 47 people since 2022. Many of them suffered minor bites on their hands, but a few were rushed to hospitals with broken bones or wounds that needed stitches.

       In 2022, 21 people reported injuries from dolphin attacks along a stretch of beaches near the town of Echizen, according to the police in Fukui Prefecture. Most were reported in what one Japanese media outlet called the “dolphin threat summer.” One man told local media that he was swimming close to the shore when a dolphin bit his arm and tried to force itself on top of him, almost pushing him underwater.

       The next year, the attacks were concentrated on beaches down the coast near the town of Mihama. In 2023, 10 people were injured, a Fukui police spokesman said. In one case, a man was left with broken ribs.

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       Since July 21 this year, 16 people have been injured in dolphin attacks, mainly off the beaches near Mihama and the nearby Tsuruga city, according to local officials. Two of them had serious hand injuries that needed dozens of stitches.

       Image

       A poster that local authorities have put up at some beaches to warn of dolphin attacks.

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