Local officials and mountaineering experts are warning against risky climbing practices on Mt. Fuji as more accidents ... a gate about halfway up the Yoshida Trail to the summit.

KOFU--The Yamanashi prefectural government announced on Dec. 20 a plan to cap the number of Mount Fuji climbers at 4,000 per day and set up a gate at the fifth station on the Yoshida trail.

This decline is believed to be due to the newly introduced daily access limit and fee at the Yoshida trail in Yamanashi Prefecture, the most popular route taken by over half of all Mount Fuji ...

Hikers using the most popular route to climb Mount Fuji -- the Yoshida trail -- this summer will be charged 2,000 yen ($13) each, with entries capped at 4,000 to ease congestion for the first time.