Japanese Boy Left In Forest Found Safe And Sound, ‘There Wasn't Anything To Eat,’ Says Yamato

Yamato Tanooka, the seven-year-old Japanese boy whose parents left him in remote woods as punishment for misbehaving, was found safe and sound on Friday.

Yamato's parents made him get out of their car and left him by a wooded road near Nanae in Hokkaido region as punishment for throwing rocks on a family day out. When they returned several minutes later he had vanished, reported CNN.

The rescue team found the boy at a military base in a hut located about 5 kilometers (3 miles) from where he disappeared. The search team comprised 180 people and search dogs.

The boy told police that he had walked to the military base by himself soon after his parents left him.

"I drank water to get by," he said, according to BBC. "There wasn't anything to eat."

Yamato immediately asked for food after he was discovered. The soldiers gave him water and two rice balls, and said that the boy was fine and talking normally. The boy, who looked in good health, was immediately rushed to the hospital for a check-up as a precaution. The doctors found that the seven-year-old suffered from mild dehydration and malnutrition, and had a mild rash and scratches on his arms and legs.

Takayuki Tanooka, the father of the boy, apologized for everything that happened and regretted the punishment.

"I told my son that I am sorry that I made him go through a very hard situation. He nodded to me," Tanooka said at a press conference after being reunited with his son.

"I have been raising him with lots of love," he said. "I would like to pour a lot more love over him from now on, and watch him growing up."

"I never thought the situation would develop in such a way. I thought it would be good for him, but it was too much," he added, reported The Guardian.

The father thanked everyone for the rescue and vowed to do a better job as his dad. The parents originally told police that their son went missing while they were out hiking to gather wild vegetables. However, they later admitted that they had punished their son for misbehaving.