A young boy was left along on Mount Fuji, according to Japanese media reports.
On Thursday at around 7.40am local time police were called to the sixth station of the Fujinomiya Trail, on the Shizuoka Prefecture side of Japan’s highest mountain. An employee at a mountain hut there reported a child had been abandoned.
The boy, aged seven, was reportedly found sitting on a bench near the hut, at an altitude of around 8,170ft (2,490m), reports the Mirror.
Japanese broadcaster TV Asahi reports the boy had been climbing with his father and two other people. He told police his “dad went ahead”, telling him to “wait there” as he was “tired”.
Hong Kong-based outlet The Standard reported the boy, who is from Nagoya City in Aichi Prefecture, was found unharmed.
Reports say police summoned the boy’s father, issued him with a warning and returned the child to his care.
READ MORE: Sky Blues: Coventry rallies behind CCFC ahead of Premier League Arsenal clash – in pictures
READ MORE: Gang caught smuggling £13.8m cannabis haul through Birmingham Airport
In Japan children are often encouraged to develop independence from a young age. However, the incident has sparked debate across the country over child safety.
Around 60 miles south-west of Tokyo, Mount Fuji is an active stratovolcano in central Japan, which rises to 12,389ft (3,776m).
Want to see more of the stories you love from Coventry Live? To add us as a preferred source of news on Google, simply click here.
AloJapan.com