HAKODATE, Hokkaido-Hokkaido police believe psychological abuse may have been involved in the case of a missing boy found after six days in the mountains by himself, sources said June 5.
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Takayuki Tanooka, his 44-year-old father, has said he, his wife, and daughter returned several minutes later to the spot where Yamato was forced out of the family auto, but there was no sign of him.
A seven-year old Japanese boy who spent six days without food in a bear-infested forest has forgiven the father who abandoned him there, although his parents are under investigation for possible child abuse.
Yamato was reunited with his parents and sister in an emergency room at a hospital on Friday after he was found in a military facility by a Self-Defense Forces soldier, who was not part of the search that made headlines around the world.
Other than suffering from dehydration, doctors found the boy had only a few minor scratches to his arms and feet.
Takayuki Tanooka, his 44-year-old father said to a local news broadcaster TBS, “I said to him, ‘Dad made you go though such a hard time”.
Takayuki cried as he said, “It’s like (my son) was never alone all along, I’m so relieved he’s in good shape”. Its content is produced independently of USA TODAY. “We went too far”.
The center will decide whether the parents’ actions could be considered child abuse after interviewing them and the boy.
A child welfare expert said abandonment of a child should be treated seriously.
Police said they had expanded the search to include Mount Komagatake after Yamato’s sister said she had seen him walk off in that direction, but had not checked the nearby military training area.
After apparently walking for several kilometers (miles), the boy found an empty hut in an unoccupied military drill area and entered a door that had been left open.
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Daijiro Hashimoto, a former governor appearing on a talk show on TV Asahi, wondered how the boy had endured the loneliness, especially at night, and suggested that perhaps he had imagined he was on some adventure and was hiding in a secret camp. Yamato had been throwing stones and his parents, to frighten him into behaving, drove off. “He is fantastic. He didn’t know how long it might take, and when he would ever be saved”.
