Police slam dad for ditching ‘tired’ son, 7, on Mount Fuji to finish climbing summit without him

A dad's behaviour has been branded 'unacceptable' by police after he left his seven-year-old son alone on Mount Fuji to complete the climb without him.

The unnamed 48-year-old father took his two sons, aged seven and 12 or 13, from their home in Nagoya to climb Japan's tallest mountain on Thursday, August 20.

The family were hiking the Fujinomiya Trail, one of the main mountain's main routes, and had reached its sixth of 10 stations, which sits 2,490m (8,170ft) above sea level, when the youngest brother began to complain he was tired.

It was at this point, instead of waiting for his child to regain his stamina or simply abandon the quest to reach the summit, that the father told him to 'wait here' and left him all alone on the side of the mountain in the early hours of the morning, reports Japan Today.

Mount Fuji is Japan's tallest mountain (David Mareuil/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

If you're thinking they must have been fairly close to the top by that point, you'd be wrong, as they still had 1,286m (4,219ft) left to climb. That's just 59 metres off the entirety of the UK's tallest mountain, Ben Nevis.

According to the official Mount Fuji Climbing website, it takes more than five hours to reach the mountain's peak from station six, and then about another two and a half hours to get back down again.

The father expected his young lad to sit on his own for at least seven and a half hours, presuming the continuing pair didn't stop for a break or to take in the stunning views at the top of the mountain.

The child was spotted by a mountain worker as conditions worsened

With rain falling and fog starting to close in, a worker spotted the boy sitting on a bench all on his own at around 7:40am and invited him into a mountain hut close to the station.

As the boy took shelter, police were called. Upon their arrival, they learned the father's identity, managed to get in contact and ordered him to return to his child.

“Even if it means having to give up on climbing the mountain together, leaving a child behind is unacceptable,” officers reportedly told the father upon his return.

The boy was unharmed and safely reunited with his family, a lucky escape, given weather conditions on Mount Fuji can unexpectedly and suddenly worsen and lead to hazardous conditions due to poor visibility and footing.

A map points out the stations on Mount Fuji (Carl Court/Getty Images)

The father and older son had made it close to the eighth station by the time police got in touch, which is an estimated three-hour hike from station six.

Though it has not been confirmed exactly how long the boy was abandoned for, that hike time would mean he was likely on his own from 4:30am.

The dad is reported to have shown remorse and said: "I made a rash decision, and I deeply regret it.”

In the wake of the incident, police called hikers to be aware of the dangers of leaving anyone alone on the mountain, no matter their age, and reminding them the pace of the expedition should always be set by the weakest hiker.