A father has been reprimanded by police after leaving his 7‑year‑old son on Japan’s highest mountain for several hours with just a soft drink and snack, local media report.
The boy was spotted sitting on a bench on Mount Fuji in foggy and rainy conditions, at a point situated at over 2,000 m (6,500 ft).
His father, 48, reportedly told him to “wait here” after the boy complained he was tired – and continued the climb with his eldest son.
Staff at a mountain hut found the child near the sixth station of a hiking route towards the summit and alerted police. His father was tracked down at the route’s eighth station – said to be a three‑hour hike away.
According to reports, the boy was found on his own at 07:30 local time on Thursday (22:30 GMT). Officers castigated his father when he returned from the higher station and reunited with his son.
“Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable,” one officer told him, according to Japan Today. He apologized for the “rash” decision.
The family was reported to have been on the Fujinomiya route, which starts from the fifth station on the mountain, a spot which is accessible by public transport.
From there it takes around five hours to reach the peak and a further three hours to get down, climbing guides suggest.
Mount Fuji, which stands at a height of 3,776 m (12,389 ft), has been the site of a number of climbing mishaps in recent years. In July, a 99‑year‑old woman had to be rescued after falling while attempting the route, and last year a 27‑year‑old university student was rescued twice in four days after returning to search for a lost mobile phone.
The volcano, located south‑west of Tokyo, was granted World Heritage status in 2013 and is one of three traditional “Holy Mountains” together with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. Around 200,000 people climb it each year, but daily caps on some routes reduce overcrowding.
