The Yamanashi prefectural government is pushing ahead with plans to build a railroad up Mount Fuji despite sharp opposition from a city at the base of Japan’s highest peak.

The prefectural government is now studying various issues, including profitability, of the planned railroad operation system. It intends to start briefing municipal governments on the mountain as early as autumn.

Yamanashi Governor Kotaro Nagasaki reaffirmed his eagerness for the railroad at a news conference on Sept. 12.

“I suppose that public access to the Fifth Station needs a drastic change,” he said, referring to a climbers’ base located roughly halfway up the mountain.

Nagasaki described the railroad plan as a “trump card” for dispelling overtourism and for passing down Mount Fuji’s universal values to posterity.

A supplementary budget, approved by the prefectural assembly in July, earmarked 62 million yen ($415,000) for related projects.

The prefecture has since been studying the operation system of a light rail transit (LRT), a next-generation tramway that is being considered for the railway.

Another supplementary budget bill, submitted in September, set aside expenses for interviewing LRT operators and rolling stock manufacturers.

The prefecture is hoping to root out technical problems in the coming months and to work out a road map that takes account of the time needed to resolve those issues.

“We hope to be briefing municipal governments later this autumn on details of our policy line and the measures we are taking,” a prefectural government official said.

TWO MUNICIPALITIES IN FAVOR

Under the plan, the railroad will be built along the Fuji Subaru Line, a prefectural toll road that runs through the municipalities of Fuji-Kawaguchiko, Fuji-Yoshida and Narusawa in ascending order from the base of Mount Fuji to its Fifth Station.

The town government of Fuji-Kawaguchiko approved the plan in September.

The head of the town’s policy planning division on Sept. 6 told the municipal assembly that he believes the railway will have a positive effect on Fuji-Kawaguchiko, which relies on tourism for the regional economy.

“The railroad is expected to improve the value of sightseeing sites and of Mount Fuji,” the division chief said.

The village of Narusawa followed suit when Mayor Shigesumi Kobayashi expressed his approval for the plan at a municipal assembly session on Sept. 12.

Narusawa government officials told The Asahi Shimbun that the project is acceptable from the viewpoint of reducing overtourism and protecting the environment.

“We hope to win broad support in going ahead with our plan, which will drastically change the future of our regional communities,” the prefectural government official said. “We find it very reassuring that these municipal governments are in favor of our plan.”

BIGGEST CITY OPPOSED

Nagasaki pledged to build the railway up Mount Fuji during a gubernatorial election campaign. The prefectural government worked out and released a corresponding plan in February 2021.

Nagasaki has since been publicizing, both in and outside Yamanashi Prefecture, the advantages of building the railroad.

But he has failed to win over Mayor Shigeru Horiuchi of Fuji-Yoshida, the biggest city around the northern base of the mountain.

Horiuchi, a critic of the railway plan from the outset, expressed his distrust of the prefectural government and of Nagasaki at a news conference on Sept. 7.

“Prefectural government officials are trying … to foster public opinion that building a Mount Fuji railway is a done deal,” Horiuchi said. “It’s like they are saying that local communities should obediently listen to a proposal made by the prefectural government. They are so arrogant in their stance.”

Horiuchi’s criticism is partly derived from his discontent that his town government has never received a direct briefing on the plan from the prefecture. He remains highly cautious of Nagasaki and his communication skills.

During the news conference, Horiuchi reiterated his argument that it would be extremely dangerous to build a railroad there, citing the soft and crumbly soil on Mount Fuji’s slope and the increase in falling rocks in recent years.

GOVERNOR WELCOMES DISCUSSIONS

Fuji-Yoshida presented its view of the railway plan for the first time in the September issue of “Koho Fuji-Yoshida,” the city bulletin.

“We oppose the Yamanashi prefectural government’s Mount Fuji railroad plan from various viewpoints,” the city said.

It called on the prefecture to “give ample explanations to local communities, for starters,” and to “engage in extensive, down-to-earth discussions.”

The city’s stance on the matter was included in the bulletin’s special article featuring Fuji-Yoshida’s ties with Mount Fuji, which was inscribed on the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage list 10 years ago.

The city says it would be more realistic to overcome overtourism by using electric buses along the Fuji Subaru Line and imposing stringent regulations on private cars.

The city government hopes to soon exchange views with Fuji-Yoshida-based transportation and tourism business operators and solidify unity.

Governor Nagasaki was asked about Fuji-Yoshida’s stance during the Sept. 12 news conference.

“I hope we will rack our brains in various ways to reach a good conclusion,” he said. “I welcome the way the mayor presents his views.”

PLAN OUTLINE

Under the prefecture’s plan, the railway will run 25 to 28 kilometers along the Fuji Subaru Line between Mount Fuji’s base and its Fifth Station.

Each LRT train will have a capacity of 120 passengers and run at a maximum speed of 40 kph.

The travel time has been provisionally estimated at 52 minutes going uphill and 74 minutes going downhill.

An estimated 3 million passengers will use the line a year if the round-trip fare is set at 10,000 yen, while 1 million passengers annually are expected if the two-way fare is 20,000 yen.

The railway is expected to ease congestion during the summer climbing season and allow visitors to sightsee as far as the Fifth Station throughout the year.

The Fuji Subaru Line, in the meantime, will be closed to vehicles.

It is assumed that the private sector will take the initiative to operate the funicular system. However, a setup of the so-called vertical separation, wherein the public sector owns and maintains the infrastructure, will be considered as an alternative option.

The cost to build the railway has been estimated at 140 billion yen.