SHIZUOKA (TR) – Shizuoka Prefectural Police issued a stern warning to a 48-year-old father who abandoned his 7-year-old son at the 6th station of Mt. Fuji.
According to Nippon News Network (Aug. 21), the man told the crying boy to “wait 8 hours” while he continued his climb.
At just before 8:00 a.m. on Thursday, staff at a mountain hut at the 6th station — situated at an elevation of roughly 2,500 meters — contacted authorities to report a child left entirely alone on a bench.
The boy, a second-grade elementary student from Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, had begun climbing the Fujinomiya trail early that morning with his father and older brother.
Fit of anger
According to reports, the older brother had hiked ahead. When the father attempted to push the 7-year-old to catch up, the younger boy became exhausted and began to fuss. In a fit of anger, the father reportedly told the child, “Stay here for about 8 hours,” before abandoning him and continuing his ascent toward the summit.
“I was cleaning the toilets and heard an argument outside. When I came out and checked the bench, the child was alone,” a hut staff member said. “I kept an eye out from inside the hut, but there was no sign of the father returning. The boy was just sitting on the corner of the bench.”
The child, dressed in winter clothes and running shoes and carrying only a light snack, was taken inside by female staff. He reportedly told them, “I’m going to wait here for my dad, just like he told me.”
Police arrived about two hours later to take the boy into protective custody. Officers contacted the father by phone, discovering he had already reached the 8th station. He was ordered to immediately return down the mountain, where he received a severe verbal reprimand.
“I did something careless,” the father told police.
Opted to drop the matter
Authorities considered pursuing a criminal case for abandonment, but ultimately opted to drop the matter because the father returned immediately upon being contacted and showed remorse for his actions.
Medical experts stressed that the father’s actions could have been fatal. Dr. Kazue Oshiro of the Mount Fuji Hygiene Center at the 8th station warned that mountain weather changes rapidly, putting children at a significantly higher risk of hypothermia due to their body surface area.
Dr. Oshiro also noted that children who become anxious may wander off to search for their parents, leading to dangerous falls. Furthermore, a child “fussing” or throwing a tantrum on the mountain is often an unarticulated symptom of altitude sickness.
Police are urging hikers to always match their pace to the weakest member of their group.
