This is one outlet's own report from Newsweek — the article as it was filed. Other outlets are covering the same event; open the full story to compare every source side by side.
Dad Leaves 7-Year-Old Boy Alone 6,500 Feet up Mount Fuji: Report
0 Share Newsweek is a Trust Project member See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. A seven-year-old boy was found safe after being left alone for hours on Mount Fuji by his father, who abandoned the child to continue climbing with his older son, according to Japanese media reports.
The incident occurred Thursday on the Fujinomiya route of Japan's highest peak. The family, visiting from Nagoya, had reached the mountain's sixth station at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters (about 6,500 feet) when the boy told his father he was too tired to proceed.
Instead of turning back, the 48-year-old father told the boy to wait on a bench while he and the older brother pressed on, according to reports by local media outlets including FNN Prime Online and Japan Today. The child was left with only snacks and a soft drink as rain and thick fog descended on the area.
A worker at a mountain hut discovered the child sitting alone—roughly 100 meters (about 328 feet) from a sheer drop—and alerted police at about 7:40 a.m. local time.
Newsweek has attempted to contact the district police department via phone and email for further comment on the reports.
Police officers tracked the father down at the mountain's eighth station, roughly a three-hour hike higher up, and ordered him to return. The boy was unharmed and later reunited with his father.
Local police reprimanded the father, with Japan Today reporting that officers said: “Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable.”
The father expressed remorse, saying: “I made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it," the outlet reported.
The Fujinomiya route begins at the fifth station and is one of the main routes used by climbers attempting to reach the summit. The climb from the fifth station to the peak takes around five hours, while the descent can take a further three hours, according to climbing guides.
Mount Fuji’s official climbing season runs from early July to early September, with the busiest period from late July to late August. The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) notes that trails are especially congested during the Obon holidays, typically in mid-August. They may also close due to rain or wind, making careful planning essential for anyone attempting the ascent.
Mount Fuji’s official website warns about seasonal conditions. The mountain is usually snow-free between late June and October, but temperatures at the summit can still drop far below zero in the shoulder seasons. Only experienced hikers should attempt climbs in late June or September, and proper mountaineering equipment is required if snow is present. From October to mid-June, the site says, climbing to the summit is "highly perilous" due to extreme weather, snow, ice, and avalanche risk.
Mount Fuji has also been the scene of several rescues in recent years.
The BBC has previously reported on climbers getting into difficulty on the mountain, including a university student who had to be rescued twice last year after returning to look for a lost mobile phone.
The mountain attracts around 200,000 climbers each year and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2013.
Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Matthew Cannon and Anthony Murray .
AIPROPX is an independent multi-source news index — we track, compare, and connect coverage from across the web into one place you won't find anywhere else.
