Like all small children—boys particularly—Yamato Tanooka’s naughtiness has driven his parents up a wall, but unlike most punishments involving small children, he was left in a dense, bear-infested woods for penance.
Yamato had been throwing stones at passing cars and people, and so his parents left him by the side of the road.
They drove back a few minutes later to pick him up but found him no longer there.
That was Saturday afternoon.
Now, four days later, despite the combined efforts of the police and volunteers, there is still no sign of the boy.
At first, when Yamato’s parents contacted the police to report their missing child, they said that they had lost him while they were foraging for plants.
Eventually, they admitted to their misdeed and told authorities what really happened.
“We have done an unforgivable thing to our child and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone,” said Yamato's father, Takayuki Tanooka. “I just hope he is safe.”
Now Japan’s military is offering their help to look for the missing boy.
“Seventy-five members of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces have joined 200 police and civilians beating their way through thick brush in the mountainous forest on Hokkaido island,” said a Daily Mail report.
According to Jiji news agency, a local hunter had seen fresh bear tracks in the area. Meanwhile, local people feared the boy didn’t survive the raid that had fallen Tuesday night.
People on social media, too, are vocal about what the parents had done.
“Whatever the result, this is parental neglect,” said one user. “It's cold in the Hokkaido mountains, and I hear there are bears, too.”
“When I think of him being alone in the woods like that, my heart aches,” said another.”
Currently, Japanese news programs are offering hourly update on the situation.
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