Yamanashi Prefecture in central Japan says it will launch an online system to regulate the number of people who climb Mt. Fuji.

The system will become accessible from May 20 through the official website for climbers, which is operated by the Environment Ministry and Yamanashi and Shizuoka prefectures.

Starting from this year's summer climbing season, which begins on July 1, those who plan to climb Mt. Fuji from the Yamanashi side will be asked to make a reservation through the system.

The system will be used to limit the number of climbers to 4,000 per day and collect a 2,000-yen fee, or about 12.8 dollars, from each person. The measure is aimed at protecting the environment and preventing accidents.

The prefecture expects that the new system will help avoid confusion at the entrance of the mountain as people will register their information in advance.

When making a reservation, climbers will select whether to spend the night at a hut or make a day trip, confirm their climbing date and the number of participants, provide personal information and choose the payment method.

Reservations can be made until the day before the climbing date. Anticipating climbers who arrive without reservations, the system will allocate 3,000 reservation slots per day out of the maximum 4,000 climbers.

The system will initially accept reservations for this year's summer season, which runs from July 1 through September 10.