Local governments overseeing Mount Fuji are moving to charge for helicopter rescues and require climbers to file notice before ascending, after a string of unauthorized climbs and accidents involving foreign tourists during the mountain's closed season.
Yamanashi Prefecture has drafted a revision to its ordinance that would require climbers to submit a notification form before going above the mountain's sixth station, at an altitude of about 2,700 meters, outside the official climbing window that runs from early July to early September, the Yomiuri Shimbun reported on the 15th.
Climbers have continued to flock to the mountain even when it is closed. On the Yamanashi side of Mount Fuji, 21 accidents occurred between 2019 and last year, leaving four people dead. At a regular news conference, Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki signaled a firm intent to impose penalties, urging the general public to refrain from climbing during the closed season.
The centerpiece is the charge for helicopter rescues. Yamanashi is pushing a plan to bill stranded climbers 8,000 yen, or about 70,000 won, for every five minutes a prefectural disaster-response helicopter is deployed. The amount was set with reference to a precedent in Saitama Prefecture.
Climbers who have filed a notification form and carry appropriate safety equipment would receive a reduction in rescue costs. If the ordinance is enacted, it would take effect from the closed season starting in September next year.
Behind the measures are reckless climbs by foreign visitors. In April last year, a Chinese student was unable to descend after losing a pair of crampons and had to be helped by a rescue helicopter from Shizuoka Prefecture. Four days after being rescued, the student climbed Mount Fuji again to look for a lost mobile phone, then needed a mountain rescue team once more after developing altitude sickness.
The Yomiuri Shimbun described the measures as the first attempt to prevent reckless climbing during the closed season, driven mainly by foreign visitors to Japan.
Shizuoka Also Joins, Targeting September Next Year
Shizuoka Prefecture, which oversees the opposite side of Mount Fuji, is moving in the same direction. It plans to require notification forms and introduce a demerit-point system for those who fail to submit them, aiming for implementation in September next year. Charging for helicopter rescues, however, will remain under further review for the time being, given the possibility of disputes over fairness. Shizuoka estimates that 14,000 people a year climb Mount Fuji even during the closed season.
The effectiveness of charging for rescues has already been demonstrated. In Saitama Prefecture, which became the first in Japan to charge for helicopter rescues in 2018, mountain accidents fell to 34 from 52 over the seven years before and after the change. Local experts say the cost burden works as a deterrent that reduces reckless climbing.
