Father Leaves Exhausted 7-Year-Old Son on Mount Fuji Slope, Continues Climb

On Japan's Mount Fuji, a father left his exhausted seven-year-old son alone on a mountain trail and continued climbing toward the summit with the boy's older brother. The incident occurred around 4:30am local time — the man left his son a snack and a soft drink, told him "wait here", and walked away.

Mountain hut staff found the boy

Around 7:30am, as rain began to fall and fog settled over the mountain, staff at a mountain hut located at an altitude of nearly 2,500 metres found the child sitting on a bench. They immediately alerted police, who caught up with the father roughly three hours' walk from where he had left his son and ordered him to return at once.

According to police, the boy was unharmed and was reunited with his father and brother a few hours later. The man apologised to his son, saying: "I made the wrong decision, and I deeply regret it."

Police and social media slam the father

Officers strongly reprimanded the man for his actions. "Even if it meant giving up the climb together, leaving a child alone is unacceptable," one police officer said. Authorities have not disclosed the family's identity.

The father also faced backlash online. Users questioned how he could have expected a seven-year-old to wait alone on a mountain for seven hours or more, calling his behaviour irresponsible. Some commenters sarcastically congratulated him on being "father of the year," while others suggested he shouldn't have any more children.

Fuji remains an active volcano

Experts point out that Mount Fuji is classified as an active volcano, although the likelihood of an eruption at present is low. Its last major eruption occurred in 1707, when it spewed vast amounts of ash that winds carried as far as present-day Tokyo, a city located roughly 90 kilometres from the mountain. Around 200,000 people climb Fuji each year, a third of them foreign tourists.

Read also: Prague metro: map and tickets

Source: novinky.cz