Father Leaves Young Son Alone on Mount Fuji

Japanese police have warned a 48-year-old father after he left his seven-year-old son alone for several hours at an altitude of more than 2,000 m while climbing Mount Fuji, according to the BBC.

The boy reportedly complained of exhaustion, so his father told him to wait on a bench and pressed on toward the summit with his older son. The child was left with nothing but a soft drink and a small snack, as rain and fog settled over the mountain.

Staff at a mountain hut found the boy at around 7:30 a.m. at the sixth station of the Fujinomiya Trail and alerted police, who tracked down the father at the eighth station, roughly a three-hour hike away.

When he returned, officers told him that leaving a child alone was unacceptable, regardless of whether it meant the family had to abandon the climb.

The father apologized, calling his decision "rash." Mount Fuji draws about 200,000 climbers and tourists each year.

(mja)