{
  "id": 2538467,
  "title": "Father leaves 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji to continue hike, reports say",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/father-leaves-7-year-old-son-alone-on-mount-fuji-to-continue-hike",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-22T08:40:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC News",
    "slug": "bbc-news",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c93403wg288o?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A father has been reprimanded by police after leaving his seven-year-old son alone on Japan's highest mountain, Mount Fuji, for several hours. The boy was found on a bench in foggy and rainy conditions, over 2,000 meters above sea level. His father, 48, had told him to wait while he continued the hike with his elder son. Police tracked down the father at a higher point, around a three-hour hike away. The boy was found at 07:30 local time, and officers were critical of his father's decision to leave his son behind. The family was on the Fujinomiya route, which takes around five hours to reach the summit and three hours to descend. Mount Fuji, an active volcano near Tokyo, has seen several climbing mishaps in recent years, including the rescue of a 99-year-old woman and a university student who went outside of the official climbing season to retrieve a lost phone.",
  "summary": "The man had taken his two boys on the trip but is said to have left one behind when he got tired.",
  "key_points": [
    "Father left 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji",
    "Boy found on bench after several hours",
    "Police criticized father's decision"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 6,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Japanese dad ditches 7-year-old for hours to climb Mt Fuji",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/japanese-dad-ditches-7-year-old-for-hours-to-climb-mt-fuji",
        "published": "2026-08-22T03:35:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Japanese dad ditches 7-year-old for hours to climb Mount Fuji",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/japanese-dad-ditches-7-year-old-for-hours-to-climb-mount-fuji",
        "published": "2026-08-22T05:32:03.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "New Straits Times",
        "title": "Japan dad ditches 7-year-old for hours to climb Mt Fuji",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/japan-dad-ditches-7-year-old-for-hours-to-climb-mt-fuji",
        "published": "2026-08-22T06:26:14.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "BBC World",
        "title": "Father leaves 7-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji to continue hike, reports say",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/father-leaves-7-year-old-son-alone-on-mount-fuji-to-continue-hike-2547378",
        "published": "2026-08-22T08:40:49.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Channel News Asia",
        "title": "Japan dad ditches 7-year-old for hours to climb Mt Fuji",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/22/japan-dad-ditches-7-year-old-for-hours-to-climb-mt-fuji-2545561",
        "published": "2026-08-22T09:03:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}