A man left his seven-year-old son behind for hours on Mount Fuji while continuing the climb, resulting in a stern warning from authorities.
The boy was found alone on a hiking route on Thursday and taken into police custody, a local police officer in the Shizuoka region said yesterday.
The child told his father he was tired at the sixth station of the mountain, which is located at an altitude of more than 2,000m, local SBS TV reported.
As his older brother had gone on ahead, the seven-year-old’s father told him to “wait here” and carried on hiking with his other son.
TV Asahi said the boy was told to wait for eight hours with only snacks and a soft drink and no money, citing staff at a mountain hut who alerted police to his presence.
Officers contacted the father who was at the eighth station and handed the boy over to him when he returned.
The police officer said officers gave the man a telling-off for leaving the child behind. The father reportedly apologised, admitting the act was careless. — AFP
