Photo/Illutration An artist's concept of a railway on Mount Fuji (From a report by a panel under the Fujigoko Tourism Association)

Over the past century there has been occasional talk of “desecrating” Mount Fuji by building a railway line to improve access, but nothing ever came of it.

But now, a serious proposal is on the table to consider the feasibility of such a project for environmental reasons as well as tourism purposes.

Whether anything will come of it depends on what hurdles might be thrown up by the fact that Japan's tallest mountain was designated as a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site in 2013, rendering any commercial development extremely difficult.

Kotaro Nagasaki, the new governor of Yamanashi Prefecture who took office in January, has been advocating the plan, despite skepticism toward the project.

Mount Fuji, which rises to a majestic 3,776 meters, straddles the boundary of Shizuoka and Yamanashi prefectures.

Nagasaki is proposing to build a railway so that climbers can more easily reach the summit from the foot of the mountain.

Yamanashi prefectural authorities organized a meeting in Tokyo in May to gauge whether a railway would benefit hikers and sightseers. Fourteen prominent officials, including Nagasaki, attended.

Nagasaki opened the proceedings by stating that more than 50 years have passed since a scenic toll road called the Fuji Subaru Line opened to go up to the mid point of the trail that leads to the summit.

He noted that much has changed in the intervening years, citing environmental damage due to vehicles driving up to the fifth station.

The toll road links Fuji-Kawaguchiko at the northern foot of Mount Fuji in Yamanashi Prefecture with the fifth station.

The participants in the meeting decided to set up a committee of relevant officials and experts to consider how to proceed.

Numerous proposals for a railroad project have been floated since the 1920s to the 1930s.

In 1963, Fuji Kyuko Co. applied to build an underground cable car system to connect the fifth station and the summit, raising expectations that even women in high heels may be able to scale and descend the peak on a day trip.

But nothing came of those plans due to criticism that Mount Fuji is a sacred mountain and any development would be sacrilege. Concerns were also voiced about possible damage to the environment.

In the May meeting organized by Yamanashi authorities, officials presented a plan developed four years ago by a panel under the Fujigoko Tourism Association to replace the Fuji Subaru Line with a rail link and ban vehicular traffic.

Referring to the advantages of the project, the panel said it would allow visitor numbers to be properly controlled in the summer peak season when the mountain is flooded with hikers.

Operating trains would also enable people to visit the fifth station even during winter when the mountain is snow-capped, paving the way for “visitors throughout the year,” panel members said.

Another advantage cited was that a rail track would reduce environmental damage caused by vehicle exhaust fumes.

Separately, the prefectural government’s enterprise bureau compared 26 new transportation systems in the 1990s and concluded the most practical option was to introduce a trolley or other electric bus route along the Fuji Subaru Line.

Locals who rely on tourism for their livelihoods also expressed doubts about a train system, saying that a rail link would be capable of carrying fewer passengers than cars.

Hiromichi Saito, a national park ranger at the Environment Ministry’s Fujigoko Ranger Office, put things in perspective by saying, “Only the minimum possible development should be allowed in national parks.”

(This article was written by Hiroshi Kawai, Haruhiro Hirahata and Tatsuhiko Yoshizawa.)