A boy missing in remote woods in Japan since Saturday after being left alone by his parents as a punishment has been found alive and well.
Yamato Tanooka, 7, has been found alive and well (file). Photo: AFP
Seven-year-old Yamato Tanooka was found in military barracks near Shikabe in northern Hokkaido, just a few kilometres from where he was left.
Yamato's parents initially said he got lost while foraging for vegetables. But they later admitted they had driven off, briefly leaving him alone on a mountain road as a punishment for throwing stones earlier. When they returned to collect him shortly afterwards, he had disappeared, they said.
His father has apologised to his son and rescuers, saying "we went too far".
"My excessive act forced my son to have a painful time," Takayuki Tanooka said in an emotional news briefing outside Hakodate hospital, where his son was taken for checks.
"I deeply apologise to people at his school, people in the rescue operation, and everybody for causing them trouble," he said.
"I have poured all my love into my son, but from now on, I would want to do more, together with him. I would like to protect him while he grows up. Thank you very much."
How Yamamoto survived
Search teams including the Self-Defence Forces (SDF) have been combing the remote area, home to brown bears, for a week.
They had found no trace of Yamato, and hopes were fading. The boy was not thought to have any food or water with him, and had been wearing only daytime clothing.
But shortly before 8am on Friday (11am on Thursday NZT) he was found inside a building at the SDF base about 4km from where he was left.
"One of our soldiers was preparing for drills this morning and opened the door of a building on the base, and there he was," an SDF member told NHK.
"When he asked 'are you Yamato?' the boy said yes. Then he said he was hungry, so the soldier gave him some water, bread and rice balls."
Searchers looked for the boy for almost a week. Photo: AFP
NHK said he had told rescuers he "walked through the mountains" until he found the shelter.
Washington Post Tokyo bureau chief Anna Fifield told Checkpoint he was in remarkably good condition, considering he hadn't had any food for six days.
"He has some dehydration, he had some scratches on his hands and his feet, but in relatively good condition. He was able to answer when the soldier asked him who he was.
"He was airlifted by helicopter to hospital and so there he was treated for dehydration... I imagine he's having a good meal now."
The details of how the boy had survived were still unclear, she said.
"He said to the people who found him that he hadn't had any food but that there was a tap on the outside of the hut where he was sheltering, and he had been drinking from that tap."
Yamato's parents initially said he got lost while foraging for vegetables. But they later admitted they had driven off, briefly leaving him alone on a mountain road as a punishment for throwing stones earlier. When they returned to collect him shortly afterwards, he had disappeared, they said.
Police have said the parents could face charges for negligence.
The case has gripped Japan, sparking discussions about acceptable levels of discipline for children.
- BBC / RNZ
