A 7-year-old boy was left alone on Mount Fuji while his father continued his climb up the iconic Japanese mountain, according to reports. The child was found at the sixth station, approximately three hours from the eighth station where his father had been located, around 07:30 local time on Thursday (22:30 GMT).

Child Found Alone with Snacks and a Soft Drink

Mountain hut staff discovered the boy near the sixth station of the Fujinomiya route and alerted police. The child was with only snacks and a soft drink and had no money with him, according to TV Asahi, citing staff at the mountain hut. He had been instructed by his father to ‘wait here’ after expressing fatigue at the sixth station, which is located at an altitude of more than 2,000 meters.

His older brother had already gone on ahead, and the father chose to continue the hike with his other son, as the boy was left alone for several hours before being found and taken into police custody.

Police Reunite Father and Son After Telling-Off

Police contacted the father, who was at the eighth station, and reunited him with his son when he returned from the higher elevation, though Officers castigated him for the decision, saying that even if it meant giving up the climb together, leaving a child behind was unacceptable. The father reportedly apologized for the ‘rash’ decision, admitting it was careless.

The incident has drawn attention to the risks of hiking with young children on Mount Fuji, a popular climbing site that receives around 200,000 visitors annually. The Fujinomiya route, used by the family, starts at the fifth station and is accessible by public transport; it typically takes around five hours to reach the peak and three hours to descend, according to climbing guides.

Mount Fuji’s History of Climbing Mishaps

Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776 meters (12,389 feet), is an active volcano located southwest of Tokyo; it was granted World Heritage status in 2013 and is one of three traditional ‘holy mountains’ in Japan, along with Mount Tate and Mount Haku. Daily caps are in place on some routes to avoid overcrowding.

The mountain has seen several climbing incidents in recent years, though In July, a 99-year-old woman had to be rescued after falling and hurting her hip and back. In 2023, a 27-year-old university student was rescued twice in four days after going outside the official climbing season and returning for a lost mobile phone.

The incident involving the 7-year-old boy has raised questions about safety measures and parental responsibility in high-altitude environments; Authorities continue to monitor and enforce guidelines to ensure the safety of all hikers on Mount Fuji.