CNN has run a story about Ken Noguchi, the son of a Japanese diplomat who became an environmental activist after visiting Mt. Everest:

“Before going, I always saw images of beautiful Everest on TV. I thought it would be like that. But once I got there, I found litter everywhere,” recalls Noguchi.

Then there were the cutting words of the leader of the international team he had joined: “Japan has a first grade economy and third grade morals.”

It was then that the 26-year-old son of a Japanese diplomat decided to clean the world’s most famous peak and educate others to do the same.

Seven years later and with the help of an international team of like-minded climbers, eight tons of trash — much of it with Japanese labels — have been removed, including more than 400 discarded oxygen containers.

After helping clean Everest, Noguchi has set his eyes are a mountain that is covered with far more trash, Mt Fuji:

He has even brought some of the garbage from Mount Everest back to Japan to help highlight the environmental damage that people are causing to iconic climbing sites, including Japan’s own Mount Fuji.

“Mount Fuji is known around the world. Many foreigners visit, especially in the summer. When they come to climb it, they see rubbish like this. It’s embarrassing,” says Noguchi.

According to the mountain’s official Web site more than 200,000 people climb the 3,776 meters to the top of Japan’s highest peak each year. About one-third of the climbers are foreigners.

For Noguchi, the garbage they leave is a disgrace.

Noguchi leads regular cleaning trips with volunteers up Mount Fuji and has removed everything from a 27-inch television set and a computer monitor to car batteries.

“I have climbed many mountains in Japan, he says, but this one has the most garbage. Most climbers have good etiquette… but there are many visitors, and some heartless people dump their trash here,” says one volunteer.

The volunteers’ work is making a difference, and it’s starting to show. By all reports, Fuji is a far cleaner place to visit today, particularly in the upper reaches of the mountain. Efforts are under way to make the toilets at all 48 locations on the mountain eco-friendly. There are high hopes the mountain may soon return to a pristine condition.

I must admit, I have yet to climb Mt. Fuji. Each year I tell myself that I’ll check it out the coming year, and end up not making the trip. Perhaps when I finally get around to it, I’ll see a far more beautiful Mt. Fuji than many climbers who have gone before me (thanks to the great efforts of Noguchi and other volunteers).