Yamanashi Prefecture plans to charge climbers who enter Mount Fuji without permission for the cost of rescue helicopters, following repeated accidents and deaths involving foreign tourists.
Yamanashi to Require Climbing Plans
According to NHK on the 14th, Yamanashi Prefecture, which oversees access routes to Mount Fuji, has drafted a revision to its ordinance that would require climbers to submit a climbing plan before ascending above the sixth station, at an altitude of about 2,700 meters, outside the official climbing season from July to early September.
Climbers have continued to enter the mountain even during periods when access is restricted. From 2019 through last year, 21 accidents were reported in Yamanashi Prefecture, leaving four people dead. Local police tallied 18 accidents from 2020 through last year, with rescue helicopters deployed eight times.
Officials have pointed in particular to foreign climbers unfamiliar with the terrain and weather risks, who repeatedly run into trouble after climbing during restricted periods or entering via unauthorized routes. In April last year, one Chinese student was rescued twice within a matter of days.
Starting in September next year, the prefecture plans to charge about 8,000 yen (roughly 70,000 won) per five minutes when climbers are rescued by disaster-response helicopters after reckless climbs. The charge would apply to those who entered the mountain without prior notification, as well as those who filed a plan but were poorly equipped.
Experts say that imposing costs directly, rather than relying on guidance and warnings, is likely to be effective in curbing reckless climbing. In Saitama Prefecture, which began charging for helicopter rescues in 2018, the number of accidents fell to 34 from 52 over the seven years before and after the measure took effect.
Climbers Trapped by Rising Stream Water on Mount Seorak
In South Korea, meanwhile, eight climbers were trapped by rising stream water at Towanggol Valley in Seoraksan National Park in Sokcho, Gangwon Province, on the 8th of this month. Seventeen rescuers, including a national park special rescue team and 119 emergency responders, were dispatched and brought all of them to safety in about an hour and a half.
According to the Seoraksan National Park Office, the site was a restricted area. The group was descending after rock climbing when sudden rainfall swelled the stream, prompting them to call for help, and some reported symptoms of hypothermia.
"Seoraksan has deep valleys and many steep slopes, so heavy rain can cause streams to swell rapidly and leave climbers stranded. Even on a planned hike, it is necessary to give up and descend quickly to a safe place if it rains," Choi Seung-chul, head of the disaster safety division at the Seoraksan National Park Office, said on the 9th.
