Father reprimanded after leaving 7-year-old alone on Mount Fuji trail
A 48-year-old man was warned by police for abandoning his 7-year-old son on Mount Fuji’s Fujinomiya Trail while continuing the ascent with his older child.
A 48-year-old man from Nagoya was reprimanded by police after leaving his 7-year-old son alone at the sixth station of Mount Fuji’s Fujinomiya Trail on Aug. 20. The father continued the climb toward the summit with his older son, while the younger child was told to wait.
The sixth station sits about 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level, and the remaining ascent and descent typically takes around 7.5 hours. Authorities estimate the boy was left unattended around 4:30 a.m. He was discovered by a mountain-hut worker at about 7:40 a.m., brought inside the hut and the police were notified.
When officers reached the father, he had already progressed to near the eighth station. Police ordered him to return for his son. The child was found unharmed despite rain and fog, conditions that can change rapidly on the mountain.
"I made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it," the father told police.
Police said leaving a child behind was unacceptable and urged hiking groups to stay together and adjust their pace to the slowest member. No decision on formal charges has been announced.