A seven-year-old boy was found alone near the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, after his father told him to wait on a bench and continued climbing with his elder son. The father, 48, was reprimanded by police once he was located, in an incident that has drawn attention to the risks of climbing the mountain, particularly for families with young children.

The boy was left with only a soft drink and a snack in foggy, rainy conditions at a spot over 2,000m up the Fujinomiya route, after complaining he was tired. Staff at a mountain hut discovered him near the sixth station and alerted police, while his father was tracked down three hours away at the eighth station. Police told the father that abandoning a child was "unacceptable", and he reportedly apologised for the "rash" decision. Around 200,000 people climb Mount Fuji, which stands at 3,776m, each year, and the mountain has seen several recent rescue incidents.