Japan: 5 days on, still no sign of missing boy left in woods by parents

[Hans Mann]

JAPANESE police have called in defense troops to help search for a seven-year-old boy who went missing five days ago, but there are still no clues as to what might have happened to him.

Yamato Tanooka went missing on Saturday when his parents left him in a forest in Hokkaido, which is known to be home to wild bears, to discipline him for being naughty earlier that day.

His parents say that when they went back to the spot to retrieve him after about five minutes, Tanooka had disappeared.

Police have increased the search team to more than 180 rescuers, including defense troops, and are focusing on combing through the area where the boy was believed to have been dropped off.

Heavy rain in the area has hampered the search, forcing police to terminate the search on Tuesday until storms passed, reports CNN.

However, a rescue spokesman, Satoshi Saito, told CNN that the outlook could be grim, as the first 72 hours – which are crucial – have passed.

He said: “We can do nothing but continue looking with hope in mind.”

Tank was only wearing navy shorts, a black pullover, and red shoes when he went missing. Without any warm clothing there is little hope he could have survived on the mountain, even if he wasn’t hurt.

Tanooka’s parents initially told police that the boy went missing...

https://asiancorrespondent.com/2016/...days-no-clues/

[wasabi]

Strange punishment the parents chose, they must be having huge regrets at the outcome, a missing child.

[NZdick1983]

We have been following that story here in Japan. Very sad indeed.

Father didn't seem remorseful/emotional in his interview.
Could of been in shock, or just very 'Japanese' at hiding his emotions.

Most people feel dubious of his story (as do I).

[Hans Mann]

Missing Japanese boy 'found alive'

Japanese rescuers say they have found a boy they believe to be the one who went missing in woods in northern Hokkaido after being left by his parents

The seven-year-old boy has been missing since last Saturday.

His parents told police they left him behind briefly as a punishment for misbehaving but when they returned he had gone.

Search teams, including the military, have been combing the remote area.

Missing Japanese boy 'found alive' - BBC News

[misskit]

Abandoned boy, 7, missing in Hokkaido mountains for six days turns up at SDF training site

A boy found Friday morning inside a Self-Defense Forces training facility in Shikabe, Hokkaido, may be the 7-year-old missing since his parents abandoned him last Saturday in the mountains, prompting a massive search, according to media reports.

The boy apparently identified himself as the missing child, Yamato Tanooka, 7, of Hokuto, Hokkaido, and the police are trying to confirm this.

Tanooka’s parents told police Saturday they had briefly abandoned their son because he was misbehaving, making him get out of their car on a mountain road. When they returned shortly afterward to get him, he was nowhere to be found.

SDF troops joined in the search Wednesday, but could not find any sign of the boy.

Abandoned boy, 7, missing in Hokkaido mountains for six days turns up at SDF training site | The Japan Times

[kmart]

Kid is obviously a Ninja.

Good outcome for a change.

[NZdick1983]

I hope this is true. My missus is crying as we pack our bags to leave Japan for NZ.

Are you sure? Nothing on TV here.

[NZdick1983]

Best gift/news we could have, just before we leave for the airport.

(Ok, I admit it. I'm crying with joy too). 55

[VocalNeal]

Richard Branson's mother did a similar thing. He walked home. Went to a good school, then...

In some instances it is character building.

[Hans Mann]

Boy abandoned in Japan for being naughty found alive, unharmed

A Japanese boy abandoned in a dense forest by his parents for being naughty was found alive and unharmed on Friday, nearly a week after his disappearance set off a massive search that kept the nation riveted.

Seven-year-old Yamato Tanooka was discovered in a building on a Japanese military base around 4 km (2.5 miles) from where he disappeared last Saturday after his parents left him by the side of a road, reportedly as discipline for throwing stones at cars.

"One of our soldiers was preparing for drills this morning and opened the door of a building on the base, and there he was," a member of Japan's Self-Defence Forces told NHK national television.

"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 riceballs."

Yamato was taken to hospital for checks but was healthy except for low body temperature and would be kept overnight as a precaution, a doctor told a news conference.

The boy's parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars.

They said when they drove back a few minutes later the boy had disappeared. The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it.

The boy somehow managed to survive for nearly a week in the densely forested area, where night temperatures fell as low as 7 degrees Celsius (45 Fahrenheit) and heavy rain had fallen.

Yamato said that he had "walked through the mountains" until he found the building, broadcaster NHK said. He drank water and slept on mattresses spread on the floor.

The search for Yamato gripped Japan. At its peak, it involved several hundred rescuers beating through heavy bush and shouting, as well as soldiers on motorbikes and police on horseback.

News programs gave regular updates throughout the week, and NHK sent a news flash when he was found.

The incident set off a flood of social media comment, with most posters lambasting the parents for their carelessness. On Friday, most expressed relief.

"To be honest, I was certain of a sad result. As the parent of a 7-year-old myself, all I can say is that I am really, really happy," one wrote.

(Reporting by Elaine Lies; Editing by Paul Tait)

Boy abandoned in Japan for being naughty found alive, unharmed | Reuters

[Hans Mann]

Takayuki Tanooka meets with reporters Friday in Hakodate after his 7-year-old son, Yamato, was found safe after being left on a mountain road last Saturday as punishment for misbehaving. The 44-year-old father apologized for the trouble he caused. | KYODO

Japan let out a sigh of relief Friday after a 7-year-old Hokkaido boy was found alive following an intensive six-day search by hundreds of police, firefighters and Self-Defense Force troops.

But the case has spurred intense debate about parenting norms and the often murky line between discipline and neglect in this country.

Many parents and child care experts agree that the father of Yamato Tanooka, of Hokuto, Hokkaido, went way too far in leaving him alone in the woods, even for five minutes. The family said they briefly left him alone on a mountain road in Nanae, near the city of Hakodate, in punishment for throwing stones at cars and people. The area is thickly wooded and is known to have bears.

But some have expressed sympathy for the father, who directed an apology Friday in front of TV cameras to his son, the rescue workers and society at large.

Asa Kanaami, 30, from Tokyo’s Minato Ward, said she was relieved to hear the boy was found alive, adding that she would never discipline her 9-month-old daughter that way.

“When I was a child, my parents used to tell me they would leave me on the streets if I did something bad. But I believe that could only work if they watched me carefully,” Kanaami said. “I think the father was to blame for leaving the boy for even five minutes without monitoring.”

She added that in a society where grievous crimes are increasingly common, leaving a child unwatched is a risk no parent should take.

A couple with a 4-month-old daughter, also from Minato Ward, were more sympathetic, saying what happened in Hokkaido could happen to any family.

“Every parent may have disciplined kids this way,” said the father, who declined to be named. “Everywhere on the street you see parents telling their children that they will leave them there if they don’t stop crying. What happened to the Hokkaido boy was similar to that — the only difference was that it happened in the mountains.”

The mother said it is hard to draw a line between discipline and child abuse.

“I may do the same thing when our daughter grows up and gets out of control,” she said. “If there are professionals who can explain how to discipline kids, I want their advice.”

But some foreign citizens in Japan took a harsher line on the parents.

“While the parents may feel regret now, what’s to say they won’t do this again?” asked American Matt Apple, 43, an associate professor at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto Prefecture, and a father of two girls, aged 7 and 4.

“The best punishment is to take the child away and place him with foster parents — but, of course, there is no foster parenting system here, only a limited number of orphanages.”

Canadian Vivian Morelli, a 36-year-old mother of a 6-month-old boy, said the case is clearly one involving child abuse and neglect.

“I do believe many parents lack adequate mental support and help in Japan,” the Tokyo-based freelance journalist said.

“I think that could lead to child abuse, like in this case. For parents to get to that point, it’s not just bad parenting, it’s a deeper issue … involving psychological troubles.”

Ryoichi Yamano, a professor of child welfare at Nayoro City University in Hokkaido, said the case is an opportunity for parents to reflect on child-rearing attitudes that have long been taken for granted.

“Even today, it is not uncommon for parents to kick children out of the house and leaving them outside the door as punishment for misbehavior,” Yamano said.

The welfare ministry considers leaving children outside under harsh conditions, such as in cold weather, a form of physical child abuse, Yamano said, noting that many parents are unaware of this.

Yamano said tolerance in society for keeping children unsupervised varies greatly between Japan and the West.


Yamato Tanooka, seen here in an older picture

“It is not uncommon for children aged 4, 5 or 6 to stay at home alone in Japan,” he observed. “Part of it is that Japan is a safe country and leaving a kid alone does not translate into an immediate risk of kidnapping.”Yamano added that just criticizing the parents is not enough.

“Some parents have no option but to leave their children at home alone at night because they have to go to work. Labor conditions for some parents are very bad in this country. Expanding the definition of neglect and abuse alone is going to corner such parents further.”

Tetsuya Ando, founder of Fathering Japan, a nonprofit organization that helps fathers take a more active role in parenting, said the “tough father” attitudes are often taken by people who are raised in patriarchal families themselves.

“The important thing to do is to treat your child with respect instead of just giving orders from above,” he said.

“Each kid is different. What we have done in our family is, when the mom gets angry and snaps at one of our kids, I would explain privately later why she snapped the way she did, and try to discipline with words.”

Case of missing boy receives mix of sympathy and criticism from residents, experts

[nidhogg]

in punishment for throwing stones at cars and people.

Canadian Vivian Morelli, a 36-year-old mother of a 6-month-old boy, said the case is clearly one involving child abuse and neglect.

Daft cow.

The parents clearly have a little shit. An attempt to discipline the child (kudos there parents) went agely, probably because the little shit hiked it immediately to cause more aggravation.

[Farang Ky Ay]

^ Agree, while this story caused some trouble (searches etc), parents were trying to teach him some values, the fuss it generated is already a lesson for the parent, don't need to escalate the case ...

[wasabi]

I have a sister that was born bad, when she was about 5 she played up again at the supermarket, My Mother left her behind.
Got home and My Mother phoned ( no mobile) My Dad at work and told him to go get her.
No harm came to the little bitch unfortunately, as she grew up to be an even nastier bitch.

[Hans Mann]

Parents who abandoned 7-year-old son in Japan forest won't face charges

TOKYO (AFP) - Parents who abandoned their seven-year-old son in a Japanese forest as a punishment will not face charges, police said Tuesday (June 7).

Yamato Tanooka survived for six nights alone after his mother and father left him on a mountain road in the bear-infested woods of Hokkaido.

Many in Japan were angry at the couple, who said they had forced their son out of the car to teach him a lesson for throwing stones.

They had originally told police Yamato got lost while on a family outing, but later admitted they lied because they feared social censure.

"We plan not to regard it as a criminal case," a Hokkaido police spokesman told AFP, indicating it would be referred to social services.

Toru Numata, a lawyer who handles abuse and domestic violence cases, told AFP: "Considering the factors behind the case, the chances of making it a prosecutable one are extremely slim." Numata said that the focus is likely to shift to the boy's mental care, focusing on possible trauma from the ordeal.

Rescue workers and soldiers spent days scouring the mountainous forest - where bears are known to roam - after Yamato went missing on May 28.

He was finally discovered last Friday by a soldier, sheltering in a hut on a military drill field around 5km from where he was abandoned.

The boy was found to be suffering from mild dehydration and was sent to hospital. He is expected to be discharged later Tuesday.

On Monday, police questioned him for about an hour in hospital, accompanied by his mother and doctors, the Tokyo Shimbun said.

He was quoted by the daily as telling police: "I walked alone and met no one", adding that he sometimes stopped to rest and arrived at the hut in the dark.

Parents who abandoned 7-year-old son in Japan forest won't face charges, East Asia News & Top Stories - The Straits Times