A 48 year old father left his 7 year old son alone on Mount Fuji on Thursday after the boy said he was tired. The incident occurred on the Fujinomiya Trail in Japan.
The father, the 7 year old boy from Nagoya in Aichi Prefecture, and the boy’s older brother, a first year middle school student, began their climb early that morning. When the group reached the sixth station, at about 2,500 meters elevation, the younger boy complained of exhaustion and became emotional. The father told the child to wait there and continued upward with the older brother.
Mountain hut staff at the sixth station found the boy sitting alone on a bench around 7:30 a.m. Conditions at the time included rain and fog. The staff contacted police. Officers arrived, confirmed the boy was unharmed, and brought him inside for shelter. The child told police that his father had gone ahead because he was tired.
Police located the father near the eighth station and ordered him to return. The family was reunited later that day. Officers returned the boy to his father and issued a strong verbal warning. They stated that since the group of three had started the climb together, the father should have stopped or stayed with the child rather than leaving him alone.
The boy had snacks and drinks with him but no money. Police advised that climbing groups should adjust their pace to the weakest member and keep all members together. The boy is a second grade elementary school student and was not injured in the incident.
