Japan to charge rescue fee on Mount Fuji during off season

Starting next year, climbers who need helicopter rescue while attempting Mount Fuji during the off‑peak season will be charged for the service, Yamanashi prefectural authorities said. The fee is set at 8,000 yen ($51; £38) for each five‑minute interval of rescue work. A comparable charge already exists in Saitama prefecture for other mountainous areas and will serve as a reference point for the new policy. Yamanashi officials will also require anyone planning to ascend Fuji during the off‑season—defined as running from early September to July the following year—to submit detailed climbing itineraries beforehand. “We inquire the wide nationalist to refrain from climbing during the off-season. We anticipation that these measures volition origin radical to rethink what climbing Mount Fuji during the wintertime is like,” Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said connected Monday. Officials in Yamanashi and neighbouring Shizuoka prefecture, which administers the southern side of the volcano, have reported a rise in off‑season and unplanned ascents, several of which have left climbers stranded. Shizuoka authorities announced they will penalize those who fail to register their off‑season climbs and will increase patrols to keep hikers out of restricted zones. They did not specify a helicopter rescue fee. The official climbing window for Mount Fuji spans July to early September, attracting roughly 200,000 summit attempts annually. Climbing outside this period is strongly discouraged, though access is allowed up to the fifth of ten stations. During the off‑season most mountain huts and toilets are closed, and weather and trail conditions tend to be more severe.