A father abandoned his seven-year-old son on Mount Fuji so he could continue hiking to the summit, local police reported. The child, from Nagoya, was found alone sitting on a bench in fog and rain at the mountain's sixth station, at an altitude of over 2,000 meters (6,500 feet), and was taken into police custody.
According to local reports, the boy told his father he was tired, and his father instructed him to wait there while he and his other son continued towards the summit. The child was reportedly told to wait for eight hours with only snacks and a soft drink. Staff at a nearby mountain hut alerted police when the boy was discovered around 7:30 a.m. local time.
Officers contacted the father, who was at the eighth station, and returned the boy to him when he descended. The child had been left unattended for approximately three hours. A police officer stated that the man was reprimanded for leaving the child, telling him that "Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable."
The father reportedly apologized, admitting his decision was careless and that he deeply regretted it. Mount Fuji, an active volcano southwest of Tokyo, stands at 3,776 meters (12,389 feet) and is climbed by approximately 200,000 people annually. It was granted World Heritage status in 2013.