Japan dad ditches 7-year-old for hours to climb Mount Fuji
The boy was found alone on a hiking route on Thursday and taken into police custody, a local police officer in Shizuoka Prefecture said Saturday.
A Japanese father left his 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji for several hours while he continued his ascent, leading to a stern reprimand from authorities, according to police and local media. On Thursday, the boy was discovered alone on a hiking route and taken into police custody, reported local police officer in Shizuoka Prefecture on Saturday.
The child informed his father that he was feeling tired at the sixth station of the mountain, which sits at an altitude of over 2,000 meters, as per local SBS TV. With his older brother already ahead, the father instructed the younger son to "wait here" and proceeded to hike with his other child, reported TV Asahi. The boy was left for eight hours with only snacks, a soft drink, and no money, according to staff at a mountain hut who alerted police to his absence.
The police contacted the father, who was at the eighth station, and returned the child to him. The police officer informed the father that he had been reprimanded for abandoning the child. The father reportedly apologized to the police, acknowledging that the incident was careless.
Written by urgent.news from Japan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
