The boy was lost in the forest by his parents and was found after nearly a week! The boy did not shed a tear when he was found safe Friday. A soldier discovered the boy in a military hut by chance when passing through the hut! He gave the two rice balls the 7-year-old Yamato Tanooka to eat. He looked a bit worn out but was "genki" the military said, using a Japanese word describing healthy children.
The boy returned safely and was welcomed in a nation riveted by his disappearance and undergoing intense soul-searching about how it raises and disciplines its children.
Yamato’s story, by the comments from the military and police, was admirable in resourcefulness! His parents, trying to teach him a lesson for misbehaving and throwing rocks, made him get out of the car last Saturday on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido in a forest reputedly ridden with bears. They couldn’t find him when they returned several minutes later. Japan rescuers expand forest search for missing boy!
When he was left alone apparently walking for several kilometers, the boy found the empty hut in a military drill area and entered a door that had been left open power and no food, but Yamato huddled on the floor and drank water from the solitary faucet outside the hut for several days, local media reported. A massive manhunt, including 180 people and search dogs, had found no trace of him. The soldier who found him had not been part of the soldiers in rescue team!
Military officials expressed admiration for the boy’s perseverance, as the building where he was found was far from where he had disappeared and involved a rigorous uphill climb. The boy was dehydrated and had minor scratches on his arms and feet, but no serious health risks were found, a doctor who examined him said on nationally televised news.
Asked what he had told his son after he was found, the father said, “I told him I was so sorry for causing him such pain.” The nation welcomed the boy’s safe return. Old photos of Yamato, wearing a cowboy hat here, holding up two fingers in a peace sign there, his bangs falling over a proud smile, were flashed across again and again on TV.
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.
The boy’s disappearance and the debate set off by the parents’ decision resonated in an aging nation with a dearth of children, where child-raising is expensive and often requires financial sacrifice. Japanese culture also is not seen as promoting individual rights of children, but rather to view children almost as family property. Abandonment and child abuse are far more common in Japan than the stereotype of the parent and stay-at-home mom would suggest.
Yamato’s parents are not under any police investigation for their actions. Mitsuko Tateishi, an educator who has written a book urging mothers to take it easy, says many parents are isolated in Japan, get competitive in wanting their children to perform, and need advice especially from more experienced parents.
“The punishment this parent chose is unthinkable. They have no idea how to raise a child. They did not try to explain what was right and wrong,” she said in a telephone interview. “A child is not a dog or a cat. You have to treat the child like a human individual.” she said.
