A 4-year-old boy was found safe in a forest in Shizuoka Prefecture on Monday, 45 hours after going missing.

Police initially announced that Renki Fukumi had scratches on his face but seemed to have sustained no major injuries, but the hospital where he was subsequently treated said later in the day that he actually suffered a fractured skull, although it was not life-threatening.

According to prefectural police officials, Fukumi went missing around noon Saturday while playing with other children at a resort house in Ito. The boy, from Tokyo, was visiting with his family and the family of a friend of his mother’s.

On Sunday police, who had been searching the area, found a pair of shoes Fukumi had been wearing at a location about 100 meters from the house, and continued the search.

On Monday, Fukumi was found sitting near a river in the forest with mud all over his face.

His father, Yu Fukumi, a 33-year-old hairdresser, said that when a police officer brought his son to him, he said, “Renki, it’s daddy,” and his son nodded and ate some chocolate and had a sports drink.

“I want to thank the rescuers for finding him. I want to tell my boy, ‘Thank you for being alive,’ ” Yu Fukumi said.

In June 2016, a 7-year-old boy made headlines around the world when he was found safe after spending six days alone in a forest in Hokkaido.

The boy went missing after his parents left him alone on a forest track as punishment for his behavior.

KEYWORDS Shizuoka, police