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Courtesy of Nagano prefectural police A Nagano Prefectural police rescue team aids university students who became stranded on Jiigatake, a mountain in the Northern Japanese Alps, in December.
The Yomiuri Shimbun
12:38 JST, March 24, 2025
NAGANO — The number of cases in which people required assistance on mountains in Nagano Prefecture reached 321 in 2024, setting a record high for the second consecutive year.
The figure was up 19 cases from 2023, according to the Nagano prefectural police.
An increase in cases such as novice climbers attempting to hike up difficult mountains and people getting into difficulty while picking mushrooms and wild plants was a factor behind the record tally.
According to the prefectural police’s mountain safety division, 350 people ran into perilous situations on the prefecture’s mountains in 2024, an increase of 18 people from the previous year. Fifty-three people died or remain missing, an increase of 13 from 2023. The number of people who were safely rescued from the mountains jumped 23 to 155.
The most common cause of people requiring assistance was slipping down mountainsides, which accounted for about 29% of cases. Falls accounted for about 22% of cases, and people became unable to move due to exhaustion in about 16% of cases. People 60 or older made up about 46% of all cases. Mountain climbing has become a common leisure activity, and a significant number of cases involved middle-aged or elderly novice climbers who attempted to hike up difficult mountains without the necessary equipment, according to the division.
About 70% of cases occurred in well-known mountainous areas such as the Northern Japanese Alps and the Yatsugatake mountain range. In December, three university students were rescued by a police helicopter after they became stranded when their tent got damaged on Mt.Jiigatake in the Northern Japanese Alps.
A division official said having the proper gear was important and added, “Choosing a mountain appropriate for your climbing skills and experience will help ensure you safely enjoy your time in the mountains.”
People required assistance in 26 cases during the mushroom and wild plant picking season, a sharp increase from nine cases in 2023.
Skiing off beaten track
The police have urged backcountry skiers to exercise caution when they hit the slopes on ungroomed snowy mountains. Backcountry skiers required assistance in 24 cases in 2024, an increase of eight cases from the previous year. On Dec. 30, a man in his 50s from Tokyo, died after falling into a fissure in the snow while he was backcountry skiing at the Nozawa Onsen Ski Resort in the village of Nozawa Onsen, Nagano Prefecture.
In some cases, it can be difficult to rescue off-piste skiers who become unable to reach their intended destination. “Backcountry skiing has many risks, such as colliding with trees,” the mountain safety division official warned. “We urge these skiers to remember that this is an extremely dangerous activity.”
