Man rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week: reports

Man rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week: reports
In a bid to prevent overcrowding on Mount Fuji, authorities last year brought in an entry fee and cap on numbers for the most popular Yoshida Trail. (AFP file photo)
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Updated 28 April 2025

Man rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week: reports

Man rescued from Mount Fuji twice in one week: reports
  • Chinese university student, who lives in Japan, was found Saturday by another off-season hiker on a trail more than 3,000 meters above sea level
  • People are dissuaded from hiking outside of the summer season because conditions can be treacherous

TOKYO: A man in his 20s was airlifted from Japan’s Mount Fuji then rescued again from its steep slopes just days later because he returned to find his phone, according to media reports.
Police said the Chinese university student, who lives in Japan, was found Saturday by another off-season hiker on a trail more than 3,000 meters (9,800 feet) above sea level.
“He was suspected of having altitude sickness and was taken to hospital,” a police spokesman in Shizuoka region said on Monday.
Later, officers discovered that the man was the same one who had been rescued on Mount Fuji four days previously, private broadcaster TBS and other media outlets reported.
Police could not immediately confirm the reports, which said the man – having been rescued by helicopter on Tuesday – returned on Friday to retrieve his mobile phone, which he forgot to bring with him during the first rescue.
It was not known whether he was able to find his phone in the end, said the reports, citing unnamed sources.
Mount Fuji, an active volcano and Japan’s highest peak, is covered in snow for most of the year.
Its hiking trails are open from early July to early September, a period when crowds trudge up the steep, rocky slopes through the night to see the sunrise.
People are dissuaded from hiking outside of the summer season because conditions can be treacherous.
The symmetrical 3,776-meter mountain has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai’s “Great Wave.” It last erupted around 300 years ago.
In a bid to prevent overcrowding on Mount Fuji, authorities last year brought in an entry fee and cap on numbers for the most popular Yoshida Trail.
Starting this summer, hikers on any of Mount Fuji’s four main trails will be charged an entry fee of 4,000 yen ($27).


Jonathan Bailey named People magazine’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive

Jonathan Bailey named People magazine’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive
Updated 05 November 2025

Jonathan Bailey named People magazine’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive

Jonathan Bailey named People magazine’s 2025 Sexiest Man Alive
  • Bailey takes the mantle from “The Office” star John Krasinski, who was the 2024 selection
  • The 37-year-old had audiences swooning as Prince Fiyero in his 2024 big-screen debut in “Wicked,” the popular movie musical

Something has changed for “Wicked” star Jonathan Bailey, something is not the same — he is People magazine’s Sexiest Man Alive for 2025.
The magazine’s pick was announced Monday night on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.” Bailey takes the mantle from “The Office” and “Jack Ryan” star John Krasinski, who was the 2024 selection.
“It’s a huge honor,” Bailey, 37, told the magazine. “Obviously, I’m incredibly flattered. And it’s completely absurd.”
Bailey had audiences swooning as Prince Fiyero in his 2024 big-screen debut in “Wicked,” the popular movie musical in which he proudly urges fellow students to join him in his shallowness. The second half arrives in theaters Nov. 21.
He dripped with charm as Lord Anthony Bridgerton on Netflix’s “Bridgerton,” and earned a 2024 Emmy nomination for his role in the Showtime series “Fellow Travelers.” Most recently, he starred in “Jurassic World Rebirth,” which came out in July.
Bailey told Fallon that the title was an “honor of a lifetime.”
“I’m sort of thrilled that People magazine have invited someone in – bestowed this honor on someone who can really cherish the value of a sexy man,” he said.
Bailey told People that he’s known he wanted to be an actor since he was 5 years old and his grandmother took him to see a production of the musical “Oliver!” Within two years he had achieved that dream, preforming with the Royal Shakespeare Company.
The first Sexiest Man Alive was Mel Gibson in 1985. Other past recipients include Brad Pitt, George Clooney, John F. Kennedy Jr., David Beckham, Michael B. Jordan, John Legend, Dwayne Johnson, Paul Rudd, Pierce Brosnan and Patrick Dempsey.
Bailey, who will be the cover story in People’s edition coming out Friday, had to stay tight-lipped about the news. But he admitted to the magazine that he couldn’t keep it a complete secret — he shared to news with his dog Benson, who will also be featured in the magazine.