The search for a boy aged 7 left in the woods of northern Japan as punishment by his parents resumed at first light on Monday.

More than 100 volunteers and local emergency teams are scouring rugged woodland near the town of Nanae in Hokkaido, famous for its population of bears known as the Ussuri brown bear.

Television footage showed rescue teams searching mountain streams and heavy undergrowth nearly 48 hours after Yamato Tanooka disappeared.

The boy's parents initially reported him missing on Saturday, claiming that he had wandered off while they were gathering mountain vegetables.

It was only after the boy's parents raised the alarm and search teams set out that Takayuki Tanooka, his father, admitted they had misled police.

Mr Tanooka, 44, said his son had been throwing stones at cars and, as a punishment, he and his wife got into their car and drove off.

They stopped the vehicle less then half a mile away and walked back to where they had left the boy, but he had disappeared.

Mr Tanooka told police he was gone for about five minutes.

In an interview with TV Asahi, he added that he did not dare tell the truth when he asked the police to initiate a search for his son. It is not clear whether the boy's parents will face charges.