Sunday, March 19, 1972, looked like the perfect day to climb Mount Fuji. The temperatures were mild, the winds were calm — but forecasts warned of a low-pressure system approaching.
That year, Vernal Equinox Day, a public holiday, fell on a Monday. Back when Saturdays were still half workdays, a Monday off meant climbers would be able to take advantage of a three-day weekend for overnight treks.
Among the hikers on March 19 were nine members of a mountaineering club from the city of Shizuoka, training for a Himalayan expedition on Fuji’s southeastern slope. Also on the mountain was an 18-member team from nearby Shimizu — seven of whom headed for the summit, while the remaining 11 pitched tents near the fifth station.
However, what began as an ordinary day on Japan’s highest and most iconic peak would soon turn into a nightmare.
With Mount Fuji’s 2025 climbing season officially opening this week, the tragedy that unfolded on its slopes more than half a century ago serves as a stark reminder of the risks authorities are once again preparing for as more first-time — and often underprepared — hikers attempt to scale the 3,776-meter peak.
While the weather was clear on that March morning in 1972, conditions quickly deteriorated. By the time the Shizuoka team wrapped up training for the day, fog had rolled in and strong winds had begun to blow. The rain turned into sleet. The following morning, the nine mountaineers decided to call off their expedition and descend Mount Fuji amid a violent storm. Only two made it down to the foothills to call for help.
Meanwhile, the 11 members of the Shimizu group saw their tents buried in snow and took shelter in a nearby mountain hut. As the winds eased, they began descending with a solo climber who had joined them, forming a group of 12. Seven collapsed from hypothermia, five were buried by avalanches. Only one survived, crawling out of the snow to eventually make it to Gotemba Police Station.
By Tuesday, March 21, a 500-member search party had been assembled, including police rescue teams, local mountaineering associations and rangers from the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Despite the severe weather, they managed to rescue five people and recover one body. Several other groups, including those from Tokyo and Kyoto, had stayed in mountain huts and safely descended, as did the seven summit climbers from the Shimizu group.
In the end, 18 were confirmed dead and six remained missing, likely buried in avalanches, making it the worst civilian mountaineering accident in Japanese history.
“The area around the police station was packed with reporters, grieving families and rescue personnel,” the Yamanashi Nichinichi Shimbun daily reported on March 22, 1972. “Just after 12:30 p.m. on March 21, as Self-Defense Forces ambulances arrived with bodies, relatives rushed forward — some crying out that ‘they must have suffered so much.’”
The events of that weekend forced a reckoning with how Japan — a country where roughly 70% of the land is mountainous — approaches mountain safety. In the wake of the disaster, local authorities recognized the urgent need for trained alpine rescuers and for raising public awareness of the dangers involved in back-country and high-altitude trekking. And as mountain tourism surges across the country — from the Japanese Alps to lesser-known regional trails — officials warn that the combination of inexperience, poor planning and rapidly changing weather continues to put lives at risk.
“The death of 24 people on Mount Fuji led to the formation of our mountain rescue team,” says Katsunori Masuda, an officer with the Shizuoka Prefectural Police.
Soon after the incident, 11 policemen were handpicked from across the region — all with mountaineering experience and exceptional physical and mental endurance — and in November 1972, the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Mountain Rescue Team was officially established.
“Today, it comprises 28 members,” Masuda says. “Most are regular police officers who volunteered to join the rescue team. They conduct four annual training exercises, among other training sessions.” Members are stationed across the Shizuoka Prefectural Police Headquarters, as well as at local precincts with jurisdiction over key mountain areas: Susono, Gotemba and Fujinomiya for Mount Fuji, and Shizuoka Chuo Police Station for the Southern Alps.
“Looking at the annual statistics, the number of mountain accidents has essentially returned to pre-pandemic levels,” Masuda says. “Since the majority of climbers are concentrated in the official climbing season, it’s during that period that we see most of the incidents occur.”
To fee or not to fee
Straddling Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures, Mount Fuji has four main climbing routes. The Yoshida trail on the Yamanashi side opens July 1, while the Fujinomiya, Gotemba and Subashiri trails on the Shizuoka side open on July 10. The official climbing season runs roughly until Sept. 10.
Famed for its symmetrical cone shape and a source of worship since ancient times, the mountain is considered a national symbol and remains a heavily visited landmark. During the 2024 climbing season, for instance, more than 204,000 people made the ascent, with a majority using the Yoshida route, which is considered the most beginner-friendly.
And while people are discouraged from climbing Mount Fuji outside the official climbing season due to harsh conditions, trekkers continue to make trips throughout the year, occasionally leading to accidents.
In 2024, Shizuoka Prefecture recorded 113 mountain distress incidents. Although the total number of cases declined from the previous year, the number of deaths and missing persons doubled to 20. Mount Fuji accounted for the highest proportion of incidents, making up more than 50% of the total.
"While it depends on each situation, we typically dispatch a team of nine or 10 rescue personnel each time an incident occurs," says Masuda of the Shizuoka Prefectural Police.
In April, for example, a Chinese university student living in Japan was rescued on Mount Fuji after returning there to search for his lost mobile phone — despite already being airlifted off the mountain four days earlier.
In response to a series of rescue operations on the mountain during the off-season, Yamanashi Prefecture has begun considering charging fees for rescues conducted by its disaster response helicopters. While mountain rescues are generally provided free of charge, the cost can be substantial when choppers are deployed, and these missions also carry significant risks for rescue teams.
“With the convenience of smartphones, I feel there’s a growing tendency for people to request rescue as casually as calling a taxi,” said Fujiyoshida Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi during a news conference on June 13. “Introducing a fee is meant as a warning to discourage climbers from taking the mountain lightly.”
Some local governments have already introduced fees. Saitama Prefecture began charging for helicopter rescues in 2018 following an accident in which its disaster response helicopter crashed during a mountain rescue operation. Under a prefectural ordinance, the charges apply only in designated high-risk areas, and the cost to those rescued is ¥8,000 ($55) per five minutes, roughly equal to the cost of the fuel. In the past, such rescue operations have taken an average of about one hour, which would translate to around ¥1 million ($6,900).
Meanwhile, ahead of the July 1 opening of the official climbing season on the Yamanashi side, authorities have unveiled a new permanent gate at the fifth station of the Yoshida trail. Costing approximately ¥15 million, the steel-framed structure replaces a temporary wooden gate and is part of broader efforts to discourage poorly equipped climbers from making dangerous ascents, according to Daisuke Watanabe of Yamanashi Prefecture’s Mount Fuji Tourism Promotion Group.
The 8-meter-wide, 3.5-meter-high gate will be closed from 2 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily — two hours earlier than last year — to prevent late departures. “The gate will be opened for those returning. Security personnel are on duty 24 hours a day, and individuals with reservations at a mountain hut will be permitted to pass through even after 2 p.m.,” Watanabe says.
“The aim is to discourage ‘bullet climbing,’ in which hikers forgo overnight lodging and instead ascend through the night to view the sunrise, a practice considered highly dangerous.”
Climbing fees have also been raised to ¥4,000 per person to help fund safety and environmental measures, while a daily cap of 4,000 climbers remains in place. Yamanashi has also strengthened the authority of its Mount Fuji Rangers, who now have the power to turn away climbers who lack the appropriate gear.
“We intend to strictly enforce the policy of denying entry at the gate to those who do not follow the rules,” Yamanashi Gov. Kotaro Nagasaki said during a news conference on June 5.
Improving climbing safety
Mountain rescue in Japan has steadily improved over the past decades, driven by better coordination, technology and public education. Police and fire departments in mountainous areas such as Toyama, Gifu and Nagano prefectures have specialized rescue units trained in alpine conditions, rope work and helicopter operations. These teams often work alongside experienced local mountaineering associations to create a response network with regional expertise.
Digital tools have also changed how hikers and climbers engage with the mountains. Mobile apps like Yamap and Yamareco let users submit climbing plans, share GPS locations and track their routes in real time.
Despite these technological advances, accidents remain common, especially among middle-aged and older people who often take up mountain climbing as a form of recreation and exercise.
In 2024, there were 2,946 mountain distress incidents reported nationwide, according to the National Police Agency — a decrease of 180 from the previous year. However, trouble on popular tourist peaks like Mount Fuji and Mount Takao rose sharply. On Mount Fuji, 83 people required rescue, a roughly 60% increase compared to the five-year average. Mount Takao, which stands 599 meters high in western Tokyo, recorded 131 incidents, up about 50% compared with the previous year.
Of those involved in mountain accidents, 79.8% were aged 40 or older, and 50% were 60 or older. Among fatalities and missing persons, 91.7% were aged 40 or older, and 64% were 60 or older. Meanwhile, 135 foreign visitors were involved in mountain incidents, the second-highest number on record, following a peak of 145 the previous year.
“On Mount Fuji, there are a growing number of climbers who aren’t seriously injured or in need of complex medical treatment or technical rescue but who are simply too exhausted to continue,” says Kazue Oshiro, a certified international mountain medic and the founder of the Association for Mountain Medical Rescue, a group that translates global mountain medicine standards, provides hands-on training with first-response tools, and supports field clinics in advising rescue operations.
Oshiro spends several weeks each summer at a clinic located at the eighth station of Mount Fuji, at 3,250 meters. Many hikers come in suffering from altitude sickness.
“While climate change is a factor, the increase in physically unprepared or fatigued hikers is becoming a big concern,” she says. “These cases, often involving beginners or older climbers, place a significant strain on rescue teams and local resources.”
Tomikazu Murakami, a former commander with the Hokkaido Police Mountain Search and Rescue Team, and a member of Oshiro’s association, says that improved first-aid techniques and gear have led to significant progress in treating hypothermia, the leading cause of death in mountain accidents in Hokkaido.
“In the past, there were many cases of hypothermia where victims were still alive when rescuers arrived,” he says, “but they would deteriorate rapidly and die shortly afterward.”
Murakami has developed several original products sold through the association’s website, including the DK Shelter, a small, lightweight tent that can be quickly spread out over the body to create a warm space, and a rescue vest designed for hypothermia patients. And as a veteran mountain rescue professional, Murakami notes that many mountain accidents occur in popular tourist areas.
“Take Mount Asahi in Hokkaido, for example,” he says. “There’s a ropeway, so the mountain looks clearly accessible. But once the weather turns, it’s easy to lose your sense of direction on the descent.”
Mount Fuji presents a similar risk. “Because the peak is so visible, it gives a false sense of security,” Murakami continues. “There are mountain huts, too, so it doesn’t feel like a real climb — it feels more like visiting a tourist spot. But the conditions can be extremely harsh. On calm, windless days, most can make the climb. But once the weather changes, it becomes a treacherous climb.”
With July marking the start of hiking season for Mount Fuji and the Japanese Alps, Murakami offers this advice to those planning trekking expeditions: “Don’t wait until you’re completely stuck and out of options to call for help. Ask for rescue earlier. In the meantime, conserve your strength and equipment to stay alive. If you do that, the rescue team will do everything they can to reach you.”
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