Father abandons seven-year-old son on Mount Fuji during family hike

A father from Nagoya left his seven-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji on Thursday morning. The boy said he was too tired to keep climbing, so his father left him at the sixth station of the Fujinomiya trail. The station sits more than 2,000 metres above sea level. Before leaving, the father gave the boy some snacks and a drink. He then continued up the mountain with his older son.

A worker at the mountain found the child sitting alone on a bench around 07:30 and called the police. By that time, the father had climbed to the eighth station, about three hours away. Police took the boy into their care and later returned him to his father. Officers reprimanded the father for his decision.