A seven-year-old boy was left alone on Mount Fuji after his father instructed him to wait while he continued the ascent with his older brother. The incident occurred on Thursday morning on the Fujinomiya Trail, one of the main routes to the summit.
The boy, a first-grader from Nagoya, Japan, was climbing with his father and his older brother, a first-year middle school student. At the sixth station, which sits at an altitude of approximately 2,490 metres and is at least five hours from the summit, the boy complained of feeling tired. Rather than pausing to rest or turning back, the father told him to stay put and carried on climbing with his other son.
Boy found by mountain hut worker
Hours later, a mountain hut worker discovered the boy sitting on a bench at around 7:40am. Based on hiking time estimates, the father had left him at roughly 4:30am. As fog began to gather and rain fell, the worker brought the boy inside for shelter and contacted the police.
Police were able to reach the father, who had made it to the eighth station. Officers urged him to abandon his climb and return to collect his son. Upon being reunited, the father was scolded by police, who said: “Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable.”
Father expresses remorse
The man expressed regret, saying: “I made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it.” Fortunately, the boy was unharmed. Police also issued reminders to other hiking groups, telling them to stay together and set their pace based on the least physically capable member.
Mount Fuji is the tallest mountain in Japan, and its most popular hiking period is July to August. Around 200,000–300,000 people climb the mountain each summer, according to reports.
