102-year-old becomes oldest person to summit Mount Fuji

Kokichi Akuzawa almost gave up during his trek to became the oldest person to summit Mount Fuji at age 102, an achievement recognized by Guinness World Records after he reached the top in early August.

- BY REENO HASHIMOTO

"I was really tempted to give up halfway through," Akuzawa told The Associated Press in a recent interview. "Reaching the summit was tough, but my friends encouraged me, and it turned out well. I managed to get through it because so many people supported me."

Akuzawa climbed with his 70-year-old daughter Motoe, his granddaughter, her husband and four friends from a local mountain climbing club.

The climbing party camped for two nights on the trail before their Aug. 5 ascent to the top of Japan's tallest mountain, which peaks at 3,776 meters (12,388 feet).

"I'm impressed I climbed so well," he said, communicating with the help of his 75-year-old daughter Yukiko, who repeated questions into her father's ear because he is hard of hearing. Akuzawa added that he doesn't take any mountain for granted at his age. "It's better to climb while you still can."