Bernhard Sutter, 58, head of a Swiss euthanasia organization, collapsed and died on July 21 while ascending Mount Fuji with his son via the Fujinomiya route. The incident marks the second fatality of the 2026 climbing season.
The incident occurred in the afternoon at a mountain hut near the seventh station. Rescue teams reached the site shortly before 4 p.m. and used a defibrillator to temporarily restart his breathing, but doctors pronounced him dead upon arrival at the hospital.
Four days earlier, on July 17, a 65-year-old man from Nara died after falling and striking his head on the same trail. No deaths occurred on Mount Fuji during the 2025 climbing season.
Shizuoka Prefectural Police have urged hikers to turn back or seek help if they feel any uncertainty about their physical condition or changing weather.
