Yamato Tanooka says he is looking forward to returning to school, and police say his parents will not be prosecuted

A seven-year-old boy who survived for nearly a week after being abandoned by his parents in a forest has left hospital, capping a 10-day drama that captivated Japan and sparked a national conversation about child discipline.

Police said the parents would not face charges for leaving Yamato Tanooka as a punishment for throwing stones despite widespread public anger at their action.

Yamato was cheerful when he emerged from Hakodate municipal hospital on the northern island of Hokkaido. Wearing a black baseball cap, he stopped to smile and wave to journalists and onlookers. He held a baseball made of paper that appeared to carry written messages of support.

Asked by a journalist what he wanted to do, he shouted, “Baseball” Queried about returning to school, he replied enthusiastically, “I want to go” After a few minutes, which included applause, his father ushered him into a van and they drove off.

The boy survived for six nights alone after his parents left him on a mountain road on 28 May in woods that are home to brown bears.



Many in Japan were angry at the couple, who said they had forced their son out of the car to teach him a lesson after he had thrown stones at cars and people. They originally told police that he got lost while on a family outing, but later admitted they had lied because they feared social censure.

The case sparked debate in Japan about discipline, with some voices calling for understanding of parental frustration in making children behave, though most condemning the parents’ actions.

Police said on Tuesday the parents would not face charges. “We plan not to regard it as a criminal case,” a Hokkaido police spokesman said, indicating that it would be referred to social services.

The father, 44-year-old Takayuki Tanooka, said on Monday that he had apologised to his son and that the boy had forgiven him.



Facebook Twitter Pinterest Takayuki Tanooka bows in front of the media after his son was found safe and unharmed. Photograph: Daisuke Suzuki/AP

Rescue workers and soldiers spent days scouring the mountainous forest after Yamato went missing. He was discovered on Friday sheltering in a hut on a military drill field around three miles from where he was abandoned.

The boy was suffering from mild dehydration and was sent to hospital. On Monday, police questioned him for about an hour in hospital accompanied by his mother and doctors, the Tokyo Shimbun reported.

He was quoted by the daily as telling police: “I walked alone and met no one.” He said he had stopped occasionally to rest, and had arrived at the hut in the dark. Yamato kept himself warm at night by sleeping between two mattresses, and drank water from an outside tap, but he had nothing solid to eat.

After being found Yamato was lauded on social media for his endurance, with some even suggesting that the survival skills he had exhibited could make him a future candidate for Japan’s military.