A mountain hut worker alerted police after finding the child by himself at the Fujinomiya Trail’s sixth station.
FUJINOMIYA, Japan — A 7-year-old boy was found alone at Mount Fuji’s sixth station after his father left him there and continued climbing with the child’s older brother, Japanese authorities said. The boy was unharmed, and police later ordered the father to return.
The incident happened Aug. 20 on the Fujinomiya Trail on the Shizuoka Prefecture side of Mount Fuji. Police said the boy, his 48-year-old father and his older brother, a first-year junior high school student, had traveled from Nagoya to climb the mountain. The younger boy became tired soon after the family began its ascent, leading to the decision to leave him at the sixth station while the other two continued higher.
A worker at a mountain hut contacted police at about 7:40 a.m. after noticing the child alone on a bench at an elevation of roughly 2,500 meters, or about 8,200 feet. Japanese reports said the child told those assisting him that his father had instructed him to remain there for about eight hours. Police later reached the boy, who did not have any reported injuries.
Kyodo News reported that the family began climbing at about 7 a.m. and reached the sixth station roughly 15 minutes later. The father and older son then continued up the mountain. That timeline differs from some international reports that suggested the younger boy had been left there much earlier in the morning. Japanese police reporting places the separation shortly after 7 a.m.
Police contacted the father after he had climbed to around the eighth station. Fuji News Network reported that mountain rescue officers reached the father by telephone at about 9:30 a.m. and ordered him to return to the sixth station. He came back around 10:30 a.m., where officers gave him a stern warning before returning the child to his care.
The father acknowledged that his decision had been careless, according to Japanese news reports. Police also warned him that leaving a young child alone in such conditions could create serious safety concerns. Authorities did not announce an arrest or criminal charge in the reports reviewed Monday.
The mountain hut worker who encountered the boy told Japanese television that the child had been sitting alone with his head down. FNN reported that fog became thick at times that morning. A hut representative also pointed to steep terrain near the area as one reason workers believed the child needed to be brought to safety rather than left waiting alone.
Shizuoka Prefectural Police used the incident to remind climbing groups to remain together. An officer quoted by Kyodo said groups should adjust their pace to the person with the least physical strength and avoid becoming separated. The warning was especially significant because conditions on Mount Fuji can change quickly even during the official summer climbing season.
The Fujinomiya Trail above the sixth station is scheduled to remain open from July 10 through Sept. 10 for the 2026 climbing season, according to Mount Fuji’s official climbing website. The site advises climbers to plan according to their physical ability and allow sufficient time for the ascent and descent. The route becomes increasingly steep and rocky at higher elevations.
The boy was reunited with his father without reported injury after police intervened. Authorities have not publicly identified the child or his father, and no further enforcement action had been announced in the latest reports reviewed Monday.
Author note: Last updated August 24, 2026.