Japanese police reprimanded a man from Nagoya after he left his seven-year-old son alone near the sixth station of Mount Fuji’s Fujinomiya trail on Thursday. The boy had said he was too tired to continue during a family hike, so his father gave him snacks and a soft drink and continued climbing with the boy’s older brother.
A worker found the child sitting alone on a bench at an altitude of more than 2,000 metres and brought him into shelter before calling police. Officers took the boy into protective custody and later reunited him with his father, who had reached the mountain’s eighth station.
How the child was found
The family had been hiking up the trail in the early hours of the morning when the boy told his father he was too tired to continue. The father instructed him to wait and proceeded toward the summit with his older son, who had already gone ahead.
By the time police contacted the father, he was at the eighth station, about a three-hour hike from the place where he had left the child. Officers told him to turn back, and he was reunited with his son after descending.
Why police objected to the decision
Police reprimanded the father for leaving the child alone on an active volcano. Officers said that abandoning the ascent would have been necessary if continuing together was not possible, according to the source report.
Mount Fuji has its own microclimate, and conditions can change rapidly. Hypothermia remains a serious risk for hikers even during summer, making the child’s exposure and lack of supervision a concern.
Police advice for Mount Fuji hikers
Local police urged people planning a Mount Fuji ascent to consider every group member’s ability and stamina, and to adjust their pace accordingly. The source material does not state that the father faced criminal charges.
The father reportedly apologised to police and said he had made a rash decision and deeply regretted it.
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