Missing Japanese boy Yamato Tanooka found alive after six nights in forest

Yamato Tanooka was found by chance by military personnel in a hut on one of its exercise areas 5km from where he is believed to have gone missing and had sustained only cuts.

The doctor who assessed him after his ordeal in Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island, said: "He was incredibly calm considering he had been missing for seven days. He didn't panic at all."

Yamato had been missing since Saturday after his parents said they made him get out of their car on a mountain road because he was misbehaving. He was reportedly without food or water.

The parents originally told police their son had got lost while they were out hiking to gather wild vegetables but later said they were angry and tried to punish him because he had thrown stones at cars and people.

After being reunited with Yamato, father Takayuki Tanooka, told reporters outside the hospital in the city of Hakodate: "The first thing I did was apologise to him for causing such an awful memory for him.

"The first thing I said to him was that I was really sorry. He nodded and said OK, like he understood."

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