World · East Asia & Pacific · 2 hrs ago
Mount Fuji research nonprofit marks 20 years of high-altitude science
Mount Fuji Research Station has marked 20 years supporting research at the summit of Japan’s highest mountain.
The nonprofit leases the former Japan Meteorological Agency weather station on Kengamine, 3,776 metres above sea level.
The summit offers rare access to the free troposphere, where air flows with little influence from the Earth’s surface, and lets researchers study pollutants carried from Asia.
In 2023, a team led by Waseda University professor Hiroshi Okochi reported the first detection and analysis of microplastics in cloud water.
Okochi said observations suggest that microplastics cross borders through the atmosphere, and that Southeast Asia may be a major source worldwide.
Nearly 7,500 people have used the station over two decades for research ranging from meteorology to medicine and ecology.
The facility is more than 60 years old, and deterioration is making it harder to maintain; Yukiko Dokiya, who helped establish the nonprofit, hopes more young people will join its work.
Mount Fuji Research Station, a nonprofit supporting research at the former Mount Fuji Weather Station, marked its 20th anniversary.
The facility is at Kengamine, the summit of Mount Fuji, 3,776 meters above sea level.
Its summit location gives researchers a rare opportunity to study the free troposphere and pollutants carried from the Asian continent.
Research at the station spans fields including atmospheric chemistry, meteorology, ecology, volcano monitoring and high-altitude medicine.
The organization has recorded nearly 7,500 user visits over 20 years.
- Who
- Mount Fuji Research Station, a certified nonprofit organization.
- What
- It marked its 20th anniversary. The station supports research at the former Mount Fuji Weather Station.
- When
- The anniversary was marked in 2026; a commemorative lecture was held on Oct. 31.
- Where
- At the former Mount Fuji Weather Station on Kengamine, the summit of Mount Fuji, Japan.
- Why
- The nonprofit was established to facilitate a wide range of research activities at the facility.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
Radar operations at the Mount Fuji Weather Station ended.
Staffed weather observations at the facility ended.
Mount Fuji Research Station was certified as a nonprofit organization.
A Waseda University-led group published a paper reporting the world's first detection and analysis of microplastics in cloud water.
Hiroshi Okochi spoke about his microplastics research at a lecture marking the nonprofit's 20th anniversary.
- Elevation
- 3,776 meters
- Location
- Kengamine, the summit of Mount Fuji
- Nonprofit certified
- 2006
- User visits
- Nearly 7,500 over 20 years
- Microplastics finding
- World's first detection and analysis in cloud water reported in a 2023 paper
- Anniversary lecture
- Oct. 31, 2026, in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward
What people are saying
Observations in various locations also suggest that Southeast Asia may be a major source of microplastics worldwide.
At first, we said it would be good if we could keep it going for five years, but it has lasted for 20.
From now on, I hope more young people will join us.