Japanese officials want ‘selfish' Mount Fuji climbers to pay for off-season rescue
Japan are calling for new rules to charge climbers who require rescue from Mount Fuji outside the official climbing season, as concerns rise over high emergency service costs and the safety of personnel deployed to deal with such incidents.
Advertisement
The mayors of Fujiyoshida and Fujinomiya, along with the governor of Shizuoka prefecture, are urging the national government to amend legislation so that local authorities can impose such rescue fees during the off-season, which falls outside a three-month climbing window for the mountain in summer.
The cost of a rescue helicopter could be as much as 500,000 yen (US$3,440) an hour, the Shizuoka governor said, with mountain rescue teams on the ground and medical facilities adding to total cost.
The authorities' pleas came after a Chinese university student was
rescued near the peak of the 3,776-metre mountain twice within four days in April.
The 27-year-old man, who was not named, was initially helped off the mountain after he became nauseous and disoriented close to the summit and lost his mobile phone, crampons and other climbing equipment.
Advertisement
Four days later, another rescue team was deployed to save the man after he collapsed around 3,000 metres above sea level, apparently due to altitude sickness. After being carried down the mountain on a stretcher and handed over to doctors, he said he had returned to the mountain to try to find his mobile phone.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
South China Morning Post
4 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Quake rumour fades as Hong Kong investor keeps buying Japanese hotels
[The content of this article has been produced by our advertising partner.] In the weeks before July 5, East Asian social media buzzed with talk that manga artist Ryo Tatsuki had predicted a devastating Japanese earthquake. Out of ungrounded fear, some travellers postponed their holidays, occupancy at some hotels sagged briefly – and then the date slipped by with nothing more than Japan's familiar background tremors. 'That rumour definitely hurt us in early July,' says Hong Kong-born hotel investor Roy Yip Wai-lun. Average occupancy across his Osaka properties dipped from the nineties to the high seventies, and one skittish buyer even delayed a contract signing until July 7 'just to be sure the prophecy had passed'. Yip took the episode in stride, noting that sentiment can wobble, but the fundamentals keep marching on, with freehold title, flexible zoning and a tourism engine that's only getting stronger.
South China Morning Post
5 days ago
- South China Morning Post
Japan stays on alert for tsunami waves day after massive quake
Residents and visitors in Japan were advised to remain on alert on Thursday after tsunami waves triggered by a magnitude 8.8 earthquake off Russia's Kamchatka peninsula reached the Pacific coast the previous day. Advertisement While all warnings were downgraded to advisories on Wednesday night, they remained in place for many areas, with the Japan Meteorological Agency assessing whether to lift them. At over 10 locations, tsunami waves as large as 70cm (27.5 inches) were observed on Thursday. At least one evacuation-related death has been reported, according to the Asahi newspaper. At around 10.10am on Wednesday, in Kumano, Mie prefecture, a 58-year-old woman driving a compact car veered off a national road and dropped around 20 metres (66 feet) down a cliff. She suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead. Messages on her mobile phone showed she had been communicating with her family via social media, saying she was 'going to move the car to a higher evacuation point', according to the prefectural police. Fishing boats return to a port in Samani in Hokkaido, northern Japan, on Wednesday after taking to sea following the Japan Meteorological Agency's tsunami warning. Photo: Kyodo Toyota said on Thursday it had halted production lines at 11 domestic plants due to tsunami warnings and advisories nationwide after a magnitude 8.8 earthquake struck off Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula the previous day.
South China Morning Post
23-07-2025
- South China Morning Post
Worried about travel safety in 2025? Follow these expert tips to stay protected
A ceasefire in the Middle East between Iran and Israel is holding steady, but international travellers remain on edge over the potential for instability in the region. According to the 2025 Traveller Safety and Sentiment Survey conducted by rescue and evacuation company Global Rescue, 78 per cent of travellers said they are either 'very concerned' (23 per cent) or 'somewhat concerned' (55 per cent) about the impact of geopolitical instability on their travel plans from now until the end of 2025. In other words, while the ceasefire may have eased immediate volatility or tensions between the two countries, traveller confidence has yet to be fully restored. What is more, traveller concerns are not limited to the Middle East. The Global Rescue survey indicates travellers are also worried about spending time in Mediterranean regions, as well as parts of Europe. 'Even after a ceasefire, the impact on traveller psychology lingers,' said Dan Richards, CEO of Global Rescue. 'People are weighing risk more carefully, and safety continues to drive travel decisions.' Tourists flock to Rome's Colosseum every summer, but a new survey indicates travellers are worried about spending time in Mediterranean regions, as well as parts of Europe. Photo: TNS Those concerns, however, have not proved strong enough to trigger widespread cancellation of travel plans.
