Japanese police have reprimanded a 48-year-old father who left his seven-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji. The man kept climbing toward the summit while the boy waited at more than 2,000 meters.
DR reports that local police told the man it is not acceptable to leave a seven-year-old alone on Japan’s highest mountain. The report was received two days ago, after a local mountain guide found the boy by himself near a hut.
According to BBC News, the child was left on Mount Fuji’s Fujinomiya trail near the sixth station. He was found sitting on a bench in rainy, foggy conditions, with only a snack and a soft drink.
Japan Today reports that a worker at a mountain hut noticed the boy around 7:40 a.m. on Thursday, August 20, and brought him inside before contacting police. Based on official trail time estimates, the outlet reported that he was likely left alone around 4:30 a.m.
The boy had complained of being tired, DR reports, while his father continued toward the summit with his older brother. When officers reached the father by phone, he was more than three hours’ hiking above the spot where the child had been left. Police said it would have taken him eight hours to get back.
The Guardian reports that the man had set out on a five-hour ascent to the top with the older child. Police from Shizuoka Prefecture’s Fujinomiya station ordered him to return, according to BBC News. Officers told him that leaving a child behind is unacceptable, even if it means giving up the climb.
Boy unharmed and returned to his father
The Japan Times reports that the boy was taken into police protective custody at the mountain hut and was later reunited with his father. The man received a stern warning. No formal charges have been reported, and neither the father nor the child has been named publicly.
The father has apologized for his actions, according to Japan Today. He said he made a rash decision and deeply regrets it. He also acknowledged that his conduct was careless.
Mount Fuji is 3,776 meters high, making it Japan’s tallest and best known mountain, far above Denmark’s highest peaks. It is an active cone volcano located just outside Tokyo. Enthusiasts do not regard it as a particularly difficult climb.
Traffic on the mountain has increased in recent years, DR reports, prompting local authorities to stress that climbers must be in good physical shape and follow the main safety rules. According to CBS News, two people have died this year while attempting the ascent. The Japan Times reports that police used the case to urge hikers not to leave members of their group behind.
