Yamanashi plans rescue fees on Fuji
Lost on Mount Fuji off-season? You'll have to pay for your rescue
Wednesday, 16 September 2026
Warm-up
- Have you ever hiked a mountain? Where was it?
- What risks should hikers think about before a trip?
- When is the best season to climb in your country? Why?
Vocabulary
- prefecture
- An area of local government in Japan, similar to a region or county.
- off-season
- A time when an activity usually stops or is not officially open.
- deter
- To make someone decide not to do something by warning of bad results.
- reckless
- Not careful about risk; doing something dangerous without thinking.
- register
- To record your details officially for an activity or service.
- penalty
- A punishment, often a fine, for breaking a rule or law.
- stranded
- Left in a place without a way to leave or get help.
- severe
- Very serious or extreme, especially about weather or conditions.
Reading
From next year, Japan’s Yamanashi prefecture will charge a rescue fee for people who climb Mount Fuji during the off-season and then need a helicopter. The plan aims to deter reckless and poorly prepared hikers.
Yamanashi will also require off-season climbers, from early September to July the following year, to submit detailed plans. Governor Kotaro Nagasaki said the public should rethink winter attempts. Officials report more off-season and unplanned climbs, and some people have been left stranded.
Neighbouring Shizuoka prefecture, which governs Fuji’s southern side, will impose a penalty on people who fail to register off-season climbs and will strengthen efforts to keep climbers out of restricted areas. It did not announce a helicopter fee.
Fuji’s official season runs from July to early September, and about 200,000 hikers attempt the summit each year. Outside those months, most huts and toilets are closed, weather and trails are more severe, and climbing is only permitted up to the fifth station.
Comprehension
- Who will have to pay a rescue fee on Mount Fuji?
- What does Governor Kotaro Nagasaki ask the public to do?
- What must off-season climbers submit in Yamanashi?
- What will Shizuoka do about off-season climbs?
- When is the official season, and how many try the summit each year?
Grammar focus
May / might (probability)
Use may or might to say something is possible now or in the future. Both are correct for possibility and are often interchangeable. (Examples constructed.)
- Off-season climbers **might be** stranded without huts.
- Rescues **may take** longer in bad weather.
Grammar exercise
Complete each sentence with may or might + the verb.
- From next year climbers (pay) ___ a rescue fee if rescued.
- Outside season trails are severe, so hikers (be) ___ at risk.
- Climbers who do not register (face) ___ a penalty.
- Bad weather (delay) ___ rescue helicopters.
- If huts are closed, rescues (take) ___ longer.
Discussion
- Should off-season climbers pay for helicopter rescues? Why or why not?
- What safety rules might reduce reckless climbs on mountains?
- Have you ever changed plans because conditions looked severe?
- How could tourism and safety both be protected on popular peaks?
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