Yamato was immediately taken to a hospital in helicopter, where he was placed on an intravenous drip as he had symptoms of mild dehydration and hypothermia.
Advertisement
The boy’s father said he and his wife put the boy out of their vehicle last Saturday on the main island of Hokkaido in a forest, known to have bears, to teach him a lesson because he had misbehaved, throwing rocks at cars and people. When they returned several minutes later, he had vanished. Speaking to reporters outside the hospital in the city of Hakodate he said, “The first thing I did was apologise to him for causing such an bad memory for him”. “A child is not a dog or a cat”.
“When the official asked “are you Yamato?’ the boy said ‘Yes, I am”, he said.
It has yet to be determined whether Yamato’s parents will be criminally charged for their actions.
“The father is probably really sorry for what he did, but he is so misguided”, she said.
“We have raised him with love all along”, he said, fighting tears. We went too far.
Abandonment and child abuse are allegedly far more common than the stereotype of the doting parent and stay-at-home mother would suggest.
There have been reports recently of children who were starved.
The 7-year-old had been missing for close to a week. The father was arrested.
The parents could now face charges for negligence, according to police.
“There was no conspicuous external injury, and the boy introduced himself as Yamato Tanooka”, he said.
Yamato is healthy but will stay at the hospital for the rest of the day as precaution, according to the doctor.
Yamato told police he had been in the drill area for several days after walking alone in the forest. There were drizzling of rain drops that have fallen at night, this little boy had survive despite of wearing only a T – Shirt and Jeans for about a week, says the officials.
Advertisement
Three soldiers from Japan’s Self-Defense Forces found Yamato Tanooka on the premises of the military’s Komagatake exercise field Friday morning, said Hiroki Komori, a spokesman for the Northern Army 11th Brigade. The GSDF member, who was taking part in a drill, gave the boy two “onigiri” rice balls.
