Father leaves 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji during summit attempt
A 48-year-old man was reprimanded by police after abandoning his 7-year-old son at the sixth station of Mount Fuji while continuing the climb with his older child.
A 48-year-old man from Nagoya was cited by police after leaving his 7-year-old son unattended at the sixth station of the Fujinomiya Trail on Mount Fuji on Aug. 20. The father continued the ascent with his older son, who is about 12 or 13 years old, while the younger child waited at roughly 2,500 meters (8,000 feet) above sea level.
Mountain-hut staff discovered the boy alone on a bench at around 7:40 a.m., escorted him inside the hut and alerted authorities. Police found the father near the eighth station and ordered him to return for his child. The boy was unharmed and was reunited with his father.
"I made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it," the father told police.
Officials warned that leaving children unattended on the mountain is unacceptable and urged hiking groups to stay together and adjust their pace to the slowest member. No decision on formal charges has been announced.