Japanese authorities rescued a 27-year-old Chinese student from Mount Fuji twice within a week, and the reason for his second climb might surprise you.
According to police on Monday (April 28), the Chinese student who is currently studying in Japan successfully reached the summit of Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet) last Tuesday, but then developed symptoms of altitude sickness and had to be rescued. However, he returned to Mount Fuji last Saturday in order to retrieve his phone and other belongings left on the mountain, only to once again experience symptoms of altitude sickness, requiring a second rescue operation.
“He appears to have altitude sickness and has been taken to the hospital,” a police spokesperson said on Monday, confirming that he is not in critical condition.
According to reports from TBS Television, authorities later realized that the student rescued by helicopter four days ago was the same person, but it remains unclear if he successfully retrieved his lost items.
This incident serves as a reminder that Mount Fuji poses certain challenges for inexperienced climbers, especially outside of the climbing season when the weather is harsh and the terrain is treacherous, making it prone to dangers. As an active volcano, Mount Fuji has not erupted since 1707 and is often covered in snow, only open for climbing from early July to early September each year.
With the mountain crowded with tourists, stricter management measures will be implemented on Mount Fuji this year. The governments of Yamanashi and Shizuoka Prefectures announced that starting from the 2025 climbing season, climbers will need to make advance online reservations and pay a climbing permit fee of 4,000 Japanese yen (about 28 U.S. dollars), double the amount of the “tourist tax” enforced for the first time in 2024.
Previously, climbers only had to donate 1,000 Japanese yen as a “voluntary support fee.” Additionally, Shizuoka Prefecture requires climbers to undergo a simple safety training and pass an exam before departure to enhance awareness of climbing safety.
Koutaro Nagasaki, the Governor of Yamanashi Prefecture, stated: “We will strengthen comprehensive safety management of Mount Fuji to ensure that this world treasure can be passed down for generations to come.”
(This article references reports from CNN and The Guardian)