Lost on Mount Fuji off-season? You'll have to pay for your rescue

From next year, people who attempt to climb Mount Fuji during off-peak seasons and then require rescue by helicopter will have to pay for the service, authorities governing the northern part of the peak say. The fee is among a series of measures Japan's Yamanashi prefecture is introducing to deter reckless and poorly prepared climbers. A similar fee of 8,000 yen ($51; £38) per five minutes is already in place in nearby Saitama prefecture for other mountainous areas and will be used as a reference. Yamanashi authorities will also require those looking to scale Fuji during the off-season, which runs from early September to July the following year, to submit detailed climbing plans.