Bears have killed at least nine people in Japan so far this year, an unwanted record that the government has described as a "serious problem".

The film, titled Brown Bear! and featuring depictions of an animal "attacking and eating" humans, was initially set to hit cinemas next month. 

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Producers announced on Friday that the release would be delayed, adding that they "take seriously the fact that there have been a series of real-life attacks" in the country. 

Bears have been increasingly encroaching into towns due to factors including a declining human population and climate change.

This week, Japan's new environment minister vowed to toughen bear controls, including by "training government hunters".

The film tells the story of a desperate university student applying for a shady part-time job that takes him deep into the woods where he encounters a ravenous, man-eating bear.

The producers said their gruesome portrayals of bear attacks were not gratuitous violence but a form of artistic expression "inherent to a monster thriller". 

Nonetheless, "we will be considerate toward our real-life situation, and make sure to create a screening environment where viewers can feel safe and fully immersed", they said in a statement.  

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