This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jun/06/parents-of-japanese-boy-left-in-forest-face-possible-abuse-charge
The article has changed 6 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Parents of Japanese boy left in forest face possible abuse charge | Parents of Japanese boy left in forest face possible abuse charge |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| The 7-year-old boy who survived for six nights in a forest in northern Japan sobbed uncontrollably and lost his sense of direction immediately after being abandoned there by his parents, it has emerged. | |
| Yamato Tanooka was found alive and well on Friday morning, almost a week after his parents ordered him out of the car as punishment for throwing stones during a family trip to the forest in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. | Yamato Tanooka was found alive and well on Friday morning, almost a week after his parents ordered him out of the car as punishment for throwing stones during a family trip to the forest in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost island. |
| Related: The extraordinary survival of the boy left in a Japanese forest | Related: The extraordinary survival of the boy left in a Japanese forest |
| His ordeal ended when three soldiers, seeking shelter from the rain, opened the door to a military hut to find him curled up on a mattress. | His ordeal ended when three soldiers, seeking shelter from the rain, opened the door to a military hut to find him curled up on a mattress. |
| It has also emerged that police are considering legal action against Yamato’s parents for possible psychological abuse. | It has also emerged that police are considering legal action against Yamato’s parents for possible psychological abuse. |
| Police in Hokkaido have submitted written notification about possible abuse to child welfare services in the nearby city of Hakodate, the Asahi Shimbun said. | Police in Hokkaido have submitted written notification about possible abuse to child welfare services in the nearby city of Hakodate, the Asahi Shimbun said. |
| His father, Takayuki Tanooka, and mother, who has not been named, have faced an avalanche of online criticism for their actions, although some sympathised with their predicament. | His father, Takayuki Tanooka, and mother, who has not been named, have faced an avalanche of online criticism for their actions, although some sympathised with their predicament. |
| Kyodo news agency quoted sources familiar with the case as saying that Tanooka had cried so much after his parents left him at the side of the road in a bear-inhabited area of the forest on 28 May that he lost his sense of direction. | Kyodo news agency quoted sources familiar with the case as saying that Tanooka had cried so much after his parents left him at the side of the road in a bear-inhabited area of the forest on 28 May that he lost his sense of direction. |
| Dressed in sweatpants, a T-shirt and trainers, he set off in the opposite direction his parents’ car had been traveling in, before coming across an unpaved road that eventually took him to the military hut about 6 km away. | Dressed in sweatpants, a T-shirt and trainers, he set off in the opposite direction his parents’ car had been traveling in, before coming across an unpaved road that eventually took him to the military hut about 6 km away. |
| Tanooka reportedly saw no one during the six days he spent inside the unheated hut, sandwiching himself between mattress at night to keep warm and drinking water from a tap outside. By the time he was found, he was suffering from mild dehydration and had lost 2 kg, according to Japanese media. | Tanooka reportedly saw no one during the six days he spent inside the unheated hut, sandwiching himself between mattress at night to keep warm and drinking water from a tap outside. By the time he was found, he was suffering from mild dehydration and had lost 2 kg, according to Japanese media. |
| More details have emerged of the obstacles he would have encountered on his journey to the hut, which, he did not realise at the time, was just one kilometre away from a private house. | More details have emerged of the obstacles he would have encountered on his journey to the hut, which, he did not realise at the time, was just one kilometre away from a private house. |
| Walking along the narrow mountain roads would have extended the distance he covered to about 10 km, the Mainichi Shimbun quoted a self-defence force (SDF) soldier as saying. “They are mountain roads that go up and down ... even a member of the SDF would take about two and half hours to get to the military exercise area.” | Walking along the narrow mountain roads would have extended the distance he covered to about 10 km, the Mainichi Shimbun quoted a self-defence force (SDF) soldier as saying. “They are mountain roads that go up and down ... even a member of the SDF would take about two and half hours to get to the military exercise area.” |
| His route, in pitch darkness, would have taken him through a maze of interconnected and unpaved roads lined by thick bushes and tall trees, making it impossible for him to get his bearings. | His route, in pitch darkness, would have taken him through a maze of interconnected and unpaved roads lined by thick bushes and tall trees, making it impossible for him to get his bearings. |
| “He probably avoided side roads and chose the wider roads, leading him to the facility where he was found,” the SDF member added. | “He probably avoided side roads and chose the wider roads, leading him to the facility where he was found,” the SDF member added. |
| Related: Yamato Tanooka’s story has exposed the perils of parenting | Deborah Orr | Related: Yamato Tanooka’s story has exposed the perils of parenting | Deborah Orr |
| Yamato reportedly said he had tried to turn on the lights inside the hut, but found there was no power supply. | Yamato reportedly said he had tried to turn on the lights inside the hut, but found there was no power supply. |
| Searchers, meanwhile, defended the scope of their search, which after six days had uncovered no clues as to his whereabouts. | Searchers, meanwhile, defended the scope of their search, which after six days had uncovered no clues as to his whereabouts. |
| Local 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. “We searched places where we thought a child would be likely to go,” Kyodo quoted a senior police officer as saying. | Local 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. “We searched places where we thought a child would be likely to go,” Kyodo quoted a senior police officer as saying. |
| The search, involving up to 180 people, had initially covered a radius of 3 km from the spot where Yamato was told to get out of the car, but was later expanded to a 15 km radius. | The search, involving up to 180 people, had initially covered a radius of 3 km from the spot where Yamato was told to get out of the car, but was later expanded to a 15 km radius. |
| “Considering the physical strength and mindset of a child, we didn’t think he would head to the mountaintops or off the main road,” a firefighter told Kyodo. | “Considering the physical strength and mindset of a child, we didn’t think he would head to the mountaintops or off the main road,” a firefighter told Kyodo. |
| There is still no satisfactory explanation for why Yamato was not discovered when soldiers on a regular patrol checked the hut last Monday morning but found nothing out of the ordinary. | There is still no satisfactory explanation for why Yamato was not discovered when soldiers on a regular patrol checked the hut last Monday morning but found nothing out of the ordinary. |
| The missing details are unlikely to emerge until Yamato is discharged from hospital, possibly later this week. Reports said that while he was in good physical health, doctors will assess his psychological state before allowing him to go home. | The missing details are unlikely to emerge until Yamato is discharged from hospital, possibly later this week. Reports said that while he was in good physical health, doctors will assess his psychological state before allowing him to go home. |