The Environment Ministry plans to build six environmentally friendly toilets on Mount Fuji in an effort to reduce pollution caused by hikers, according to ministry official.
The ministry will provide some 49.4 million yen in subsidies for construction of the toilets on the nation's highest peak. Four of them will be able to biodegrade human waste with the help of bacteria, they said.
The toilets will be at six mountain huts — one on the summit, four along trekking routes in Yamanashi Prefecture and one on the path in Shizuoka Prefecture.
"So far, human waste has not been treated and areas around the hut have become dirty. I want to build a toilet in July so that mountaineers can be free of any displeasure," said Akira Kajiwara, a 56-year-old owner of a hut on the mountain.
Some 300,000 people climb the mountain every year, mostly in summer. During the July to August peak, climbers leave trails of toilet paper, dubbed "white rivers."
Environmentalists warn that the waste could cause water pollution around the mountain.