Father leaves 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji to continue hike – BBC News
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Father leaves 7-year-old son alone on Japan’s highest mountain for several hours with just a soft drink and snack.
By Dan Sales | Published 22 August 2026, 09:40 BST | Updated 49 minutes ago
A father has been reprimanded by police after leaving his son on Mount Fuji in Japan for several hours with only a soft drink and snack.
The seven-year-old was spotted sitting alone on a bench on the mountain, over 2,000m (6,500ft) high, in foggy and rainy conditions. His father, aged 48, had told him to "wait here" after the boy complained he was tired – and continued climbing with his elder son.
Staff at a mountain hut found the child near the sixth station of a hiking route towards the summit and alerted police. The father was located between the seventh and eighth stations, a three-hour hike away.
The boy was discovered alone at 07:30 local time on Thursday (22:30 GMT).
Officers criticized his father when he returned from the higher station, reuniting with his son who was said to be "tired and fussy" after eight hours of waiting.
"Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable," one officer told him, according to Japan Today. He apologized for the "rash" decision.
The family was reportedly on the Fujinomiya route, starting from the fifth station on the mountain accessible by public transport. From there, it takes around five hours to reach the peak and a further three hours to descend.
Mount Fuji, an active volcano located south-west of Tokyo, holds cultural significance as one of three traditional "Holy Mountains" alongside Mount Tate and Mount Haku. Around 200,000 people climb it each year, with daily caps on some routes to avoid overcrowding.
