Fujinomiya Mayor Hidetada Sudo, second from right, and others submit a request to Shizuoka Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki, center, calling to restrict access to Mount Fuji outside the summer season at the Shizuoka Prefectural Government office on June 19, 2026. (Mainichi/Hiroko Michishita)
SHIZUOKA — A group of four cities and one town in Shizuoka Prefecture around Mount Fuji on June 19 asked Gov. Yasutomo Suzuki to create a system to restrict climbing outside the summer season and to require climbers to bear the cost of rescue operations if they get stranded.
The Mount Fuji network conference, chaired by Fujinomiya Mayor Hidetada Sudo, submitted the request at the prefectural government office.
It was the first time the conference had submitted such a request to the governor on regulating Mount Fuji climbing during periods when prefectural-road mountain trails are closed.
The request called for “strict action against entrants who do not follow the rules,” including thorough enforcement of winter traffic restrictions on prefectural roads, and for mechanisms such as an ordinance to regulate winter climbing on Mount Fuji by restricting unauthorized entry.
It also urged early consideration of a system requiring stranded climbers to pay the full cost of rescue operations during periods when prefectural roads are closed.
Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures are considering charging for disaster-prevention helicopter rescues and restricting entry. Gov. Suzuki, after receiving the request, said, “We are carefully considering this by every possible means.”
Charging for rescue helicopter operations would require revisions to laws including the Police Act and the Fire and Disaster Management Organization Act. Mayor Sudo and the other mayors urged Gov. Suzuki to ask the national government for legal revisions, but the governor only said that “the national government also appears to have its difficult aspects.”
Speaking to reporters afterward, Mayor Sudo said, “We do not want the misfortune of secondary accidents involving firefighters and others,” and called for a blanket ban on entry outside the summer season.
Gotemba Mayor Masami Katsumata said, “It is dangerous as mountain lodges are closed except summer. Any disaster will also put Mount Fuji’s image as a World Cultural Heritage site under scrutiny.”
Mayor Sudo added, “It is unreasonable for the municipality where the accident occurs to bear the costs while the stranded climbers pay nothing.” He also emphasized the deterrent effect, saying, “Requiring people to cover the cost themselves would reduce the number of climbers,” and called for making rescue operations self-funded.
(Japanese original by Hiroko Michishita, Shizuoka Bureau)
AloJapan.com