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Missing Hokkaido boy found alive in SDF hut in forest after 6 days

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This kid is incredible, surviving on his own for 6 days. Fitting that they found him at a SDF training facility. Looks like he could teach them a thing or two about survivalist training.

38 ( +41 / -3 )

Thank god for that. Unexpected but the best outcome possible.

22 ( +26 / -4 )

Wow, this kid is lucky. Lets hope is the last time he has this kind of terrible experience.

7 ( +12 / -6 )

Great news. I hope this story can also teach people a valuable lesson about not jumping to conclusions. The truth is usually complicated and difficult to believe while conspiracy theories are always clean, simple and dangerously convincing.

18 ( +27 / -10 )

Best news I've heard this week!

26 ( +29 / -4 )

GREAT NEWS! I'm so happy he was found safely.

8 ( +14 / -6 )

Wow! So much for the search party. A GSDF hut 6km from the site!

-7 ( +15 / -22 )

Thank God! Brave boy!

2 ( +9 / -7 )

All the people who discarded the premise of 'innocent until proven guilty', condemning his parents as murderers, should be ashamed of themselves. They are they dirty, gross side of the internet.

I'll admit I was really doubting this story because of the lack of details and the vague reports from the parents. But damn, come on, a 7 year old surviving for 6 days with out food/water? That is a miracle. Good news. Now let's wait for the rest of the details.

5 ( +15 / -10 )

Did no-one look at a map and think, 'Hey there's a hut nearby, let's look there?'

Would you expect a lost person to be in a training camp?

15 ( +24 / -9 )

Amazing that this boy survived and was found. I suppose the debate will turn from whether the parents murdered the boy, as many seemed to assume, to what should be done with the boy and his parents.

0 ( +10 / -10 )

This news made me so happy this morning. He is doing well. See his picture. http://www.nifty.com/

6 ( +13 / -7 )

Would you expect a lost person to be in a training camp?

Errrr, if it were the only shelter in the vicinity, then the answer would be YES.

9 ( +17 / -8 )

This kid is incredible, surviving on his own for 6 days.

Not incredible at all. There are few things in nature more resilient than a male human between the ages of 7 and 12. Somebody's probably already writing the script for a made-for-TV movie about this.

-12 ( +11 / -23 )

I suppose the debate will turn from whether the parents murdered the boy, as many seemed to assume, to what should be done with the boy and his parents.

Or how he could have been found faster if the SDF hadn't been so stupid...condemnation of the SDF starting in 3,2,1......

-15 ( +8 / -23 )

What a day! This is best news. I'm lost for words... just so happy.

11 ( +13 / -2 )

Resourceful little boy. So glad to hear he's safe.

19 ( +22 / -3 )

That's incredible! Am very interested to know what he survived on

8 ( +9 / -1 )

But wait. He was six kilometres away and it took up to 900 people 6 days to find him? Completely pathetic. Did no-one look at a map and think, 'Hey there's a hut nearby, let's look there?'

How many kilometres of bushwhacking have you done in Hokkaido?

22 ( +26 / -5 )

Sensational news - I am glad the little fella is alive!

And how many people were claiming it would be impossible for them not to have found a trace of him, if he had actually been there and walked away? How many people claimed that the fact they didn't find him right away meant he was murdered? This just goes to show how internet armchair warriors don't know what they are talking about most of the time.

We have likely only heard 1 percent of what has happened in this mystery. I cant blame people for being cynical and scathing when dealing with lying, dishonest people - such as the boys father. Lets now wait for the Japanese police to investigate fully, piece things together, and file any charges that are necessary.

5 ( +10 / -5 )

Wow! travelled 6km through the bush within hours of being left. Interesting. Bill the parents for the resources and throw them in the slammer for a bit.

0 ( +9 / -9 )

Thank you, God so glad he was found safe. How scary that had to be for him. Now he needs to live with someone who won't drop him off in woods like that. ????????

2 ( +4 / -2 )

I'm really glad the boy is safe. He must've been scared $41t-less. Hope his parents learned a good lesson.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Well, somebody sure learned a lesson, didn't they?

5 ( +9 / -4 )

Wow!!!! Great news!!

@RiskyMosaic - not sure if you have been hiking/trekking up in that area but if you had I think you would understand why this was such a difficult task. At 6km from the site he was abandoned that results in a search area of 113 square KM.

Better to just appreciate the fact that they found the little guy!

11 ( +12 / -1 )

Wow great news. The little fella walked over a mountain range that the SDF didn't think was doable. At first the search area was only 3km and then expanded. Now what happens to his folks??

7 ( +7 / -0 )

Few years from now, this boy will become men and a member of Japan Self-Defense Force.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

thumbs up to Nessie

Can't we have 5 seconds of joy at him being found alive, without the blame game??

16 ( +18 / -2 )

Great news but what next for this family?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Awesome news! Looks like JT forum (very) amateurish detectives got that wrong, oops! Egg, face, love it!

12 ( +15 / -3 )

Errrr, if it were the only shelter in the vicinity, then the answer would be YES.

It's not in the search area calculated on where the parents say they left him.

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Suggested Father's Day gift for Papa Tanooka: vasectomy by katana

3 ( +9 / -6 )

We cannot judge. Another lesson learned! Thank God for his safety. So happy for his him and his family!

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Great news! Tough kid. Hopefully he won't have to go back to the hell of living with his family.

-4 ( +3 / -7 )

@Himajin Fair enough about the search area. I'll admit after 6 days without a successful outcome, I was having my doubts about the parents. After they were caught lying about the circumstances of his disappearance, their credibility dropped. The kid pretty much did a self-rescue. I would love to learn how he did it.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

Whatever his behavior, the parents put him in a potentially life threatening situation and should be held accountable.

8 ( +9 / -1 )

What a good news today! ^^

But wait... oh no wait, I have been consuming with alternative theories (1. A 7 years old survive by himself for 6 days. 2. A troops of rescuers and especially Self-Defense Forces couldn't find him within a 6 kilometers range!!!]... I am desperately need to learn how to survive like this little "forest-hardened" boy (sic)

5 ( +5 / -0 )

Huge relief. Very glad to admit I was wrong that he was likely dead. The parents can no doubt breathe a huge sigh of relief, as can the nation. Now, I still think they need to be held accountable and cover some, if not all of the costs, as well as having the children taken away from them or at the very least closely monitored for further abuse, but still.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

Marilita Fabie-Fujisawa: We cannot judge. Another lesson learned!

The parents would learn a much clearer lesson after being sent to prison for a short time and having their child moved to more responsible caretakers.

-7 ( +4 / -11 )

Thank goodness he is safe and sound. Hopefully from now onward, keep this boy and his sister out of reach from his super duper stupid idiotic parents forever.

0 ( +5 / -5 )

I'm a dad myself, and I know what the parents did was unforgivable and stupid and the worst kind of parental punishment they could do... But, right now, honestly, I'm just glad the little dude is safe. Made my day, have had a smile on my face for the last 45 minutes knowing he's safe. The parents hopefully will learn from what they did, his family will hopefully become closer, and he'll stop throwing rocks at cars too, maybe :) Most of all, maybe the country can learn from this about raising our kids better.

11 ( +15 / -4 )

Well, excuse my doubts! It's glad news to hear they found him safe. It seems strange it took them five days to find him in the only shelter close to where he went missing though.

-1 ( +6 / -7 )

Thank God. I've been praying everyday for this boy to be found safe. Im crying reading this great news!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Torakichi said it all.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Ok... now that he's safe..... did he run off on his own knowing they'd come back to look for him and not find him? If that is the case then they might have actually done the same thing before but this time he had a plan to teach them a big lesson.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

I have never been so happy to be wrong. I'm glad they boy found the SDF. The parents are in a world of trouble now. I admire the boy's audacity, I hope he never loses it.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

I hope he's learned his lesson.

-7 ( +9 / -16 )

So happy to hear he's safe!

I hope this leads not only to a lot of reflection in his family, but all families. The pressures of modern life can lead us all to undervalue the treasures we have.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

That's awesome! That little guy is a warrior..

What he was forced to endure was criminal and I hope the people (I can't call them his parents) who allowed it are held accountable.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Fantastic news!

We're at 800m asl on Honshu and it got down 3C early this morning. The coldest June temperature in at least 40 years. It will have been very cold in Hokkaido too, so he's done great to survive.

Regardless of what they do to the parents, I hope this signifies the end to this cruel practice of "pretend" abandonment. Perhaps the authorities could announce that parents doing this from now on will get jail time and a bill for the search.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This good news has made my week.

All the week's comments about foul play now can blow away like the wind.

I bet the kid now is a different person from what he was before - I am sure that any lessons he learned were not the lessons which his parents had intended him to learn.

Parents too - I hope that they have changed their tune too. If not, well, I suppose there is always the SDF for this kid in the future - instant employment as survival trainer!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Great news!

Parents turn in the woods!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

LOL Two group of people learned the lesson from this. 1) The parents obliviously 2) The internet mob suggesting checking the backyard.

3 ( +4 / -2 )

This is a miracle and thanks for all people in this operation! The case was the best punishment for the parents to learn the lesson... Anyway, keep on the life!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

absolutely amazing! but tell me, how did he survive without food for 6 days? did he have drinking water? I can't even survive a afternoon on an empty stomach! this kid is tough

0 ( +3 / -3 )

A lesson to all the parents out there hhhmmmm.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The fact that a 7 year old had the nous to find the hut and stay in there for a better chance of survival means that his parenting may not have been that bad nor abusive after all. Remember that (before their stupid punishment) his parents idea for a day out is to visit the forest to pick vegetables - not so unhealthy for your kids.

2 ( +6 / -4 )

So the parents abandon the kid in the woods to teach him a lesson. He hides for 6 days to teach them a lesson. Lesson Learned.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

Glad he's safe. Bill the patents for the cost of the search, and make them attend counselling. At the very least.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Why doesn't the JSDF sign this kid up. -He certainly has the skills they are looking for and his family is sort of crappy anyway. A perfect candidate.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

They probably found him when he was throwing rocks at the SDF cars

7 ( +10 / -3 )

Thought for sure the bears had him for an appetizer. Glad this one ends on a good note. Now the parents will be hit with a huge rescue fee (probably over 10 million yen) which they will be paying for many years...

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Wow, tough little kid! The cheers to him.

And a rotten fish for the idiot father.

And a reminder to all the instant JT armchair detectives who were so convinced that the father murdered him not to jump to conclusions based on feelings.

-1 ( +7 / -8 )

Hope this kid will forgive his parents. They might have done in anger Or lost mind for few seconds but i beleive that they are the one who cried, prayed most for his safe return.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

This is a wonderful piece of news. I often check this site, only to find the next horror story or the next piece of doom and gloom. It's fantastic to find such good news here.

I hope this family, and all families everywhere learn the lesson on how precious children are. I also hope this little fellow lives a long, happy life and receives a reward for his ingenuity and bravery.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

i hate to say it but this kid is an idiot. you get back at your father by running away into a deep forest? yeah, the father was a moron for punishing the kid like that, but the kid ran away. he is one lucky s.o.b. for stumbling upon a facility that kept him alive. now ground the little brat for a month for causing so much trouble.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

the question is how's he survive without food for 6 days???!!!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I can tell you, I am close to tears thinking about what this little kid has been through.

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Lucky kid! 7 days with no water? no I think he lived off of the land and made it! Thank Budda!

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

Glad the kid is safe. I wonder was this just a stunt by the parents like that case in the USA a few years ago of "balloon boy" who supposedly tied a lot of helium balloons to a lawn chair and floated off on his on, only to reveal on TV that it was his parents who put him up to it and told him what to say. But I am glad that he is fine.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

This could be a movie in the making. Fantastic!

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

My parents used to leave me in the forest on my own. I learned many skills that proved useful in adult life. J. Rambo.

I was right!

I am so happy he's alive.Great, great news.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

But wait. He was six kilometres away and it took up to 900 people 6 days to find him? Completely pathetic. Did no-one look at a map and think, 'Hey there's a hut nearby, let's look there?'

Do you know for a fact that maps of this part of Hokkaido show detail down to the level of a hut on a military base? Do you know for a fact that this hut existed prior to the most recent updates of the map for this area?

Just asking.

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

theres something extremely fishy about this. It seems though almost everyone is buying into the disneyland style story.

-4 ( +2 / -6 )

And how many people here condemned the parents as murderers?

4 ( +5 / -1 )

Very happy he's safe & sound. A scary experience for all involved.

But those suggesting the parents lose custody are on another planet. The kid did some bad kid-like acts, was left alone on a road for a few minutes as a punishment, he wasn't lost. He decided in those short moments to hike it into the woods. Then a giant problem evolved that as a 7 yr old he could never have imagined. He was lucky (and he's probably tough). Most kids in the same situation would have remained glued to the spot - an open roadside area - at least for quite a while and sobbed and said sorry when the parents returned soon after. I don't know the parents or details of the situation, but reserve judgement on calling them monsters.

Almost daily we read of horrific cases of child abuse / neglect, often prolonged for years - but sadly they don't get the attention of the media / public. Just too hard for society to think about. This case was easy-pickings.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

They had him on the TV and has a lot of bruising and contusions on his face that are not related to being lost. I hope these parents are investigated because it seems as though this kid has been abused

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

So happy to hear he is alive and okay.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

TigersTokyoDome: "The fact that a 7 year old had the nous to find the hut and stay in there for a better chance of survival means that his parenting may not have been that bad nor abusive after all."

No, it only means that to people who live by syllogism. It's be like saying a child who dies from being abuse was not really abused because he happened to be smart. They may well have taught him what he needed to know to survive, and in that respect were responsible, but in no way does that make abandoning him in the forest somehow a responsible act, nor does it excuse it in the least.

bullfighter: "Do you know for a fact that maps of this part of Hokkaido show detail down to the level of a hut on a military base? Do you know for a fact that this hut existed prior to the most recent updates of the map for this area?"

Even if it were not on a regular map, should the SDF not have known about it when they started looking two days ago?

Just asking.

-7 ( +1 / -8 )

But wait. He was six kilometres away and it took up to 900 people 6 days to find him? Completely pathetic. Did no-one look at a map and think, 'Hey there's a hut nearby, let's look there?'

Open your map app then look for the place 6 kms. From the place they abandoned the child for a hut. And while your at it, look how big the search area

2 ( +5 / -3 )

What is striking about all this is the number of disgusting comments made condemning the parents - some even saying they murdered him.

Well, just a minute. I was keeping track of various Japanese mainstream social media sites, and 99% of the comments were just as vicious and condemnatory, if not worse. There was even a wacky theory going around that the sister of the boy had murdered him, and that the parents were covering for her. The comments here on JT were downright mild in comparison.

He was six kilometres away and it took up to 900 people 6 days to find him? Completely pathetic. Did no-one look at a map and think, 'Hey there's a hut nearby, let's look there?'

Good point. There were looking in all the wrong places. Apparently he found the hut on the very day he went missing, and stayed there the whole time!

Resourceful little boy.

That's for sure.

2 ( +5 / -3 )

brighten my day that he is still alive. hope the parents learn from this incident and dispose that type of punishment.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

No, it only means that to people who live by syllogism. It's be like saying a child who dies from being abuse was not really abused because he happened to be smart. They may well have taught him what he needed to know to survive, and in that respect were responsible, but in no way does that make abandoning him in the forest somehow a responsible act, nor does it excuse it in the least.

You need to cease adding additional meanings to other peoples comments my friend. If you go back and read it all the way through this time I never said that the parents idiotic punishment was right and their child could easily have died. But I did say that a parents idea of a day out picking vegetables in the mountains is a healthy one and clearly this kid knew some basic survival instincts. Lucky or not, if the kid had poor instincts he would have wandered off away from the hut.

Sorry, but the kid would have been found by now if they were not telling the truth.

When a body's found, here or elsewhere, they should at the very least be charged with negligence resulting in death

Your assumptions on this case were so wrong that you are not entitled to criticise others posts with the easy benefit of hindsight.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

Great news!! Glad that he is alive an well, I must admit I thought the worst of his parents and was sure they did something heinous to him, sumimasen. Wonder if the boy will want to go anywhere with them again.

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

What a great way to start the weekend with this kind of news. I actually have a small tear of joy running down my cheek knowing that he actually survived so many days alone. Way to go young man.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Wonderful news...shame about the pathetic comments.

-2 ( +4 / -6 )

Bear inhabited forest? Like shark infested waters? What else?

-4 ( +0 / -4 )

I've NEVER been SO happy to eat my words. Yesterday, I said that the chances of finding him in the forest were very slim given his age, the time spent alone, and the fact that it was a bear sanctuary. I am humbled by this lad's resilience and overjoyed at his safe return.

4 ( +6 / -2 )

Neglect charges comes to my mind against JSDF. Like if kid had done something incredible. He walked a few kilometers, which is very little in few hours, and camped there waiting... Glad he made it but certainly not with best help from rescuers (I laugh when I see they need special clothing and helmet to simply look in a forest...losing time instead of critical search). That is the objectivity of story. The parents have afterall just give a stupid punishment but nothing illegal. All's well that ends well !

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

Best news I've heard all week. Glad to hear he's safe and sound.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

My thinking is this if the little boy has not been found and there is no trace of his where a outs in the forest I don't think the parents actually left him there. They may have kills him and his body is somewhere else and they are misleading the police to make it look as if bears or some other wild animal may have attacked and kill d him but their are no clues blood nothing!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Best post so far from Jonathan Prin. The parents did a stupid idiotic thing. But the kid was in a GSDF hut 6km away. Surely they searched all the places of shelter within that radius!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

He was six kilometres away and it took up to 900 people 6 days to find him? Completely pathetic. Did no-one look at a map

I just looked at a map and measured out 6 km from where I live and realised it would be a fair hike. If the dog slipped his lead and got lost, I would not be looking for him 6km away. And that's on reasonably easy to-navigate paved streets, not a forested mountainside. And at 7 years old? You'd think it pathetic if people didn't assume he'd scrambled 6km through the trees to find shelter?

I'm just glad he's been found. Apparently there was piped water in the hut and mattresses, but no food.

Now give the parents a short sharp slap up the back of the head followed by some heavy-duty parenting lessons.

3 ( +6 / -3 )

This is wonderful news. That suspicion fell in the parents is hardly surprising due to the searchers' collective failure to find him.

Given that he would have been unlikely to have survived without shelter for so long, identifying available shelter should have on the list of places to check.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

you are such moron. wtf was offensive about calling the kid a brat? so we can only have one type of opinion on this matter? what are you, the borg? .

Moderator: Who are you to call any child a brat? It is offensive and reflects badly on yourself.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Everyone learned a lesson now. The boy, the parents, the searching police and SDF, all who followed the case.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This is fantastic news, and I am beyond relieved and pleased to be proved wrong about his chances of survival. What a feisty little fellow.

And now, the raised eyebrow:

What are the chances that a 7-year-old manages to walk 6km and happens upon this hut which he had (presumably) no prior knowledge of and no way of navigating to?

And again, why didn't the sniffer dogs pick up any trace? Even after the rain, they would have got something...

Still not the whole story, I don't think, but regardless, it was a joy to see this kid's lovely face and know he's all right.

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

Boy 1, Bear 0. Good news, I hope the boy learned a lesson to do as your told and his parents can adjust there parenting methods.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Honestly I lost hope of finding the boy and alive. I am so glad I have been proven wrong. I hope the dad gets checked in for child's abandonment and mistreat.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Great news indeed!!!

And my apologies for possibly suspecting the parents were lying.

6 ( +8 / -2 )

I've been thinking about this boy all week. My son is about the same age. Such a relief! I'm not going to shame anyone for their thoughts, but at the same time I am not going to be an armchair parent or an armchair rescue worker. Hats off to them and to the police for not jumping to conclusions and just focusing on trying to find the boy. Again, what a relief, what a relief.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

He walked a few kilometers, which is very little in few hours

He had to go over a mountain to get there, they said. It was more than they thought a 7-year-old could do.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

Thank God he was found alive. I don't understand people foreseeing the past, asking how searchers didn't think of the hut. Huh??

0 ( +1 / -1 )

They had him on the TV and has a lot of bruising and contusions on his face that are not related to being lost. I hope these parents are investigated because it seems as though this kid has been abused

Citation?

The only images I've seen of him from today were him being unloaded from the helicopter (face not visible). No one else mentioned any of these bruises either; his doctor said he only had scratched arms and legs and a mild rash.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

This all sounds familiar...

He's alive and hiding in a barn! He didn't fall down an old well...it's a prank.

12 Monkeys.

(joke) Happy the young chap is safe and well.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

chanokporn som:

" he question is how's he survive without food for 6 days???!!! "

You can live without food for 6 days. It has been done before. Water is a different story. The kid obviously found some water somewhere, maybe from a stream.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Yahoo Japan reports the hut was 10kms away from where he went missing. Glad he is alive but more questions need to be asked. Walking 10kms in late afternoon without maps or GPS to a previously unknown hut stretches the bounds of credibility.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

This is bloody incredible. So very glad this turned out the way it did.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

On Google Earth, there is a road that would have taken him most of the way to where he ended up. It climbs up gradually about 150m of vert along and across a valley with multiple dams, and then hits a junction with another road heading down into the SDF base. The boy may have made it through the woods instead, but it is unlikely that he crossed what most people would call a "mountain" to get to his destination. Had he gone through the woods, he wouldn't have strayed much more than a kilometer from a train line, which has very few trains but would probably be audible. We live 2km from an inaka line and can hear it.

This isn't blaming the search party, merely questioning the "crossed a mountain" statement which sounds like an exaggeration. He ended up in a desolate place a long way away, but its very unlikely that he got there via a "mountain", especially not if he got there in the two or three hours of remaining light on the first night.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

So I was kinda right. I said that he was probably hanging out in some unibomber shack...pretty close

3 ( +5 / -2 )

That'll learn 'im not to throw stones at cars!

Only kidding (though it might) very glad he's safe. Poor little fellow.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Just amazing! God bless this kid! He is definitely a survivalist. I can learn from him.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

You can live without food for 6 days. It has been done before. Water is a different story. The kid obviously found some water somewhere, maybe from a stream.

Come on all, read the article. It clearly says that the hut had its own running water supply.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Lucky kid! 7 days with no water?

It's hard to walk 6 km in the mountains of Hokkaido without coming across water. And there's probably unmelted snow around too.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

So happy he has been found. Reunited with his parents. They should be immediately evaluated to see if they can properly care for him.

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

The boy's parents should be criminally charged. And they should lose custody of their children. I am surprised how few comments condemn the parents for negligence. In the US, their children ( all of them ) would immediately be taken away by the local Child Protective Authority.

-7 ( +3 / -10 )

Police have said they are considering filing neglect charges against his parents, according to Kyodo News.

Considering? I would hope they'd arrest them for neglect ASAP... weeping and apologising for causing trouble is fine if your child goes missing and is recovered safely... but they just left him there, deliberately.

I'm glad there was a happy ending though... that little boy will see that SDF flecktarn camouflage pattern as a comfort from now on I imagine.

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

Great news! Thankfully he found drinking water which was key and enough to keep him going. He would have been fine for weeks? Albeit weak.

The chattering classes may now commence while the world gets back to normal

Given the sincerity of the parents and number of parents in general that send their kids outside and into the woods as a form of punishment in the cultural context I doubt charges will be given.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Great news. Lucky he found that shelter. With the Sunday night rain and 9 degree temps out in the forest, it would have went the other way. Just an amazing happy ending right out of a Hollywood movie.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

And they should lose custody of their children. I am surprised how few comments condemn the parents for negligence. In the US, their children ( all of them ) would immediately be taken away by the local Child Protective Authority.

Or maybe the parents should be lined up against a wall and shot? Or stoned to death? Not enough? Read the Fathers comments and if you have ever had children in your life tell us how you have dealt with your 7 year old behaving badly. Just because parents make a stupid mistake in the heat of their 7 year olds behaviour, some people here think the child should be placed in a care home. Some parents beat their 7 year olds for bad behaviour so wasnt their reaction a non-physical one?

Tanooka conceded he had “gone too far” when he ordered his son out of the car in the forest last Saturday evening. “We’ve raised him in a loving family, but from now on we’ll do even more to love him and keep a close watch on him as he grows up,” he said. “Our behaviour as parents went too far, and that’s something I’m extremely regretful about. I thought that what I was doing was for his own good, but, yes, I realise now that I went too far.”

4 ( +6 / -2 )

People make mistakes, and his parents made a real big one here. But, I can't imagine the trauma and anguish they have gone through over the last week. Their relief must be intense and I am stoked for them.

The kid has a set, let's be fair here. That is one smart, plucky, resourceful young man.

Nice way to end the week. Hoorah!

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Walking 10kms in late afternoon without maps or GPS to a previously unknown hut stretches the bounds of credibility.

Okay, so what are we speculating now? An orangutan threw the boy on his back and transported him to the hut?

1 ( +3 / -2 )

So many unanswered questions.

Stumbling around in the forest to stumble upon a perfect shelter. Why didn't he follow the road from the training ground?

Something just doesn't feel right...

-1 ( +2 / -3 )

So they keep the doors unlocked at these facilities then?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

And my apologies for possibly suspecting the parents were lying.

There's no need to apologize.

In the absence of definite information, what's wrong with rampant speculation?

It makes boards like these more interesting.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

The word 'abandoned' doesn't really fit what happened here.

'Left alone for 5 minutes' paints a better picture of what the parents did.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

njca4: 'Left alone for 5 minutes' paints a better picture of what the parents did.

*6 days

-4 ( +1 / -5 )

The Daily Mail (cough, spit) has some photos of where he was found. They are huge huts with a big parking area next to them. On Google Earth it looks like they are about 60m from the northernmost hole of the Shikabe golf course next door with trees in between. Literally sixty meters! There are lots of parked vehicles on the Google Earth satellite photos within 150m or so and a train line 400m away. Not many trains a day up there, but there is a level crossing right there. That will be audible 400m away for certain. I'm pretty sure the trains will be too, assuming the cars aren't. And that area doesn't have the 6am, 10am, noon, 3pm, 6pm chimes you get all over inaka. You can hear them miles away.

A tiny bit of an explore near where he was and he could have been found days ago. Yamato kun must have walked 6km or whatever to get to the place that saved him, but he couldn't manage another 100m towards some sound of civilization that would have had him found in no time. It's a classic "human" story. Look at the map and it really is a case of "ato chotto".

Oh, and the boy was "abandoned". The parents didn't leave him saying, "We'll be back in five minutes, you naughty little scamp". They told him he was being left, and he reacted accordingly.

2 ( +4 / -2 )

i am not listening anything now i am just celebrating with the boy, happy return

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Reunited with his parents????? The parents should be jailed.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Finally a good news. Thanks God !!

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Yamato kun must have walked 6km or whatever to get to the place that saved him, but he couldn't manage another 100m towards some sound of civilization that would have had him found in no time.

The lad is 7 years old. His parents told him he was such a bad boy that they were going to abandon him in the forest. I wonder if 'being found' was his objective? (Assuming a 7-year-old has anything as highfalutin' as an objective.) Probably just feeling very down, and alone, and hungry. And abandoned. Poor mite.

They told him he was being left, and he reacted accordingly.

Exactly.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

This thread shows all the reasons why we shouldn't use the Internet or comment online. lol

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Outstanding little man!! But how about the parents, what will happened to them?

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

I thought I was traumatized when I saw my parents drive off in a parking lot when I was a kid. They thought they were teaching me a lesson of some kind. I'll tell what ultimately happens. You no longer trust your parents. And when they lose it because you were late for dinner, because you didn't own a watch as a kid, and the reason they lost it was because they had plans after dinner but didn't think you needed to know, then their anger and violence makes them in your eyes the children in the family. It makes you step away from them. You no longer ask for anything. Ever. You don't want to owe them anything. All families are a dream. Separate from every other one. To grow up with adults, I recommend staying one step ahead of them. So they don't need to ask you for anything.

7 ( +9 / -1 )

Glad the kid was found.

This story does highlight one very sad fact in that people are quite willing with no evidence whatsoever to condemn others as potential murderers. Those people have my sympathy as their outlook on life must be quite bleak.

1 ( +4 / -3 )

As an expat from the US given custody to two young children by their Japanese mother in a divorce, I have a bit of experience raising kids and dealing with Japanese parents and seeing how they treat their kids.

This case actually does not seem particularly extreme. Would most Japanese parents do this? No. But I've seen many Japanese parents treat their kids harshly, and if there is one pattern that is different than international parents it is that Japanese parents tend to do have the mother raising the children by themselves, and they get extremely frustrated with parenting because they don't have the husband/wife team helping each other.

In this case, both parents decided to put the child out of the car as punishment, and we're not sure who suggested it first, but apparently, both mom and dad approved of this. I see it as something that is troublesome in their raising of the child, to leave him behind as punishment.

As with my ex wife, I see women who get angered by their children and cannot deal with it as an adult should. They often ignore teaching their children, and use discipline not as a developmental tool for the kids, but as an in the moment emotional release. In other words, they don't have a consistent pattern of why the child needs to behave and understand it on a level that makes sense to the child. Instead, parents just use anger and lessons of behavior periodically, when it becomes convenient, but do not go thru the every day positive discipline of patience and consistency in teaching their children the rights and wrongs. It's a built up process of understanding, and you can't tell kids on the spot to be good, they have to learn it over a period of time.

This is a difficult thing to do, but if a parent doesn't do it, the child has no way of understanding consistent behavioral feelings. If mom lashes out for no understandable reason, so will the child. If dad just gets pissed off, because he's too busy in his own world, the child won't know why, and will get pissed off whenever he or she wants to, as well. It's a natural progression of not being able to control your own feelings due to some sort of selfish mechanism that doesn't have the flexibility to adjust to other people.

I obviously do not know what happened here, but the child was misbehaving according to the parents, and then they did something which was an irrational solution, to teach the child a lesson, that wasn't a lesson at all. I believe many parents in Japan are like this and ill equipped to raise children, but that comes from the culture and the societal OK's of not having communicative love as much as needed. When a poor decision making parent makes such a bad decision, it isn't a one time thing, it's a symptom of a much larger issue, and really, instead of just looking at this couple and accusing them, figure out why so many people are similar to this couple. You know, this actually reminded me of the beginning of 'Spirited Away'.

3 ( +7 / -3 )

Ah I see the hindsight merchants are condemning those who thought the worst... what were people meant to think? It's NOT normal to tell your naughty kid you're leaving him behind as you drive away. It could cause psychological damage, induce a fear of being alone, induce a fear of forests... a fear of going for trips in the car... and that's not even getting to the trust, or lack of it in the parents.

This had a happy ending... but it could have been so much worse. I still think the lad has been scarred for life.

2 ( +4 / -1 )

So, can I ask a question that no one has asked?

If the boy has been found and is clearly alive and if he was dropped off where the parents said he was, then:

why didn't the search dogs pick up his scent????

Maybe the search dogs need to be retrained?!

Just wondering....

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

"The kid obviously found some water somewhere, maybe from a stream."

Is this geezer for real???

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

So he thinks he's been abandoned and nobody's coming for him. He then heads off into the deep forest, climbs a mountain, fortuitously ( what are the chances?) finds a building to shelter in - now within obvious sounds of civilization very nearby - and settles back to starve to death. Yeah, riiiight...

0 ( +3 / -3 )

GREAT HAPPY NEWS

-1 ( +1 / -2 )

im really amazed, the way God had protected him in the thick forest, my family has been praying for him, im overwhelmed by this incident,

thankyou almighty..

-3 ( +3 / -6 )

Fantastic? What a stoic little boy!

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Thank God!

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Now, if we can just drop the parents off on a deserted island for seven days and let them learn what it's like to be frightened, scared, and without guaranteed food or water. Then we'll see how sorry they really are.

Happy the boy has been found, ecstatic in fact, but really disappointed in the parents for doing something so horrible to their child. Life is precious, as many of my Japanese friends who are trying to get pregnant but can't will tell you, and to see these people just disregard what the little boy they've been given, well, I hope they've learned their lesson.

-1 ( +2 / -2 )

Thanks God , the boy was safe, good news!!!

0 ( +2 / -2 )

Have to laugh at all the chicken littles who are so upset that most people had the common opinion the boy was dead. As would be the case in 99% of similar cases where a 6 year old is left in the woods for 6 days.

Did that somehow affect your lives negatively? Are you really that traumatized?

Good god, grow a pair...

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

Oh!! Thank God

0 ( +3 / -3 )

Happi endo! I believe this boy will grow up to become a very successful and famous adult. He's got spunk. He used two mattresses one above him one under him for warmth at night and found a sdf water tap with running water for drinking. This kid is a hero. Celebrate the staying power of a seven year old boy!

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Peeping Tom

"The kid obviously found some water somewhere, maybe from a stream."

there were water taps outside the huts, the huts were locked but he managed to find one that wasn't locked.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

Woah, lot's of God botherers all of a sudden!

God didn't help him folks. It's all the boy's work.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Ah, but, clamenza, I didn't accuse anyone of murder.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Great the boy was found and because the parents gave him punishment by leaving him in the forest for throwing rocks I think the government should now demand payment from the parents the total cost of manpower rescue efforts for the young boy and make them take parenting classes.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Dont they have any bloodhounds i Japan?...these dogs, or german shaefers and similar, r outstanding finding tracks after missing people. Just give the dog an item from the missing person and they will find him/her....

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Glad he was found safe

Some burning questions:

1) Why were his tracks not found on the first day of the search? A 7 year old child leaves tracks even an amateur should be able to follow. How is it that he walked 5.5km without any of his tracks being discovered?

2) Why were obvious shelters not checked immediately? Caves, huts, cabins are the first places search parties should be looking for a missing person lost in the wilderness.

Glad he was found alive but I think this shows how much trouble you are going to be in if you get lost in the wilderness in Japan. Apparently the people who will be sent to search for you do not know how to search for people.

The JSDF and Search and Rescue would do well to spend some real quality time with Ray Mears or another highly skilled tracker.

5 ( +8 / -3 )

Your experience in search and rescue is?

0 ( +3 / -3 )

'Tanooka' - sounds like an Ainu boy then. No mention of that anywhere though. Anyone?

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"The boy, apparently unharmed and in good health,"

As good health as possible without food for 6 days.

"The parents originally told police their son had got lost while they were out hiking to gather wild vegetables, but later admitted they became angry and ordered him onto the road because he had thrown stones at cars and people."

Something tells me the boy won't be throwing any more stones at cars and people for awhile.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

"This kid is a hero." / "Destined to be a celebrity" / "He will be a future TV talent"

Having read all these reactions and many more today, I beg to differ. Little Yamato needs simply to be allowed to be a normal little boy, left away from the public eye, to grow up, be taught, be allowed to make plenty of mistakes and learn from them - but most importantly to be loved and protected.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

For once, it is good to read a story that has a happy ending! I'm glad to hear that Yamato was safely found. It's an answer to prayer!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I think there are more people berating the negative speculators than actual negative speculators. They know they probably went too far... but no, you've got to throw salt in the wound. Now they're somewhat vindicated by the over zealous perfect people in the world.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

This link has a video with heli footage of where he was found. You can see how close he was to the golf course and some other buildings. The trees between the SDF huts and the holes on the course are only about 30m wide.

http://www.asahi.com/articles/ASJ6332MJJ63UTIL00H.html

I have a second grade son myself, so I know logic doesn't always come into what they do.

3 ( +4 / -1 )

Amazing. The boy's a future Bear Grylls. As for the parents, shame on them for what they did. The father's woeful apology only highlights their stupidity.

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Yokatta, he was found. He and the parents has learned a lesson. The parents should never leave their son anywhere, but at home in his room. They should think of different punishment for misbehavior like he could not go out to play or not be allowed to watch his favorite program on TV.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

It's really nice to get a "follow up" story that's positive. I believe that the parents really did not intend to lose their child and perhaps were trying (very poorly) to teach him a lesson and ended up learning a big lesson themselves.

I think that punishing the parents with jail time would be a waste of energy and money, however. I think that instead, they should be forced to undergo training for parenting (at their own expense, of course) and be monitored rather than what others here have suggested.

I also think that they should be somewhat accountable for the time and money that it cost to find their child, but it would do the boy no favours if they forced the parents into poverty because of this situation.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Never been so pleased to be wrong. Thank goodness it turned it ok. If you look at a nap of the area, its amazing he managed to find shelter, though les lucky that he didn't make contact with a heavy golf course, but the poor kid is 7, maybe he really felt permanently abandoned. I am amused by all the people saying they can't believe he survived without food for 6 days (I get the impression many people here would be deeply concerned to miss a single meal), most people, even kids, would have little trouble surviving 6 days without food, as long as they had water and out want too cold and they didn't have to exert too much. Still it would have certainly been an unpleasant ordeal. Just glad he's ok.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

And so a lot of people jumped so eagerly to the conclusion that the parents killed him....

And because I said people should not be so hast to make that kind of assumptions I was down voted and rudely discarded.....

-3 ( +0 / -3 )

This is very good the boy should join the JGSDF.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

Genetics can be wrong, the kid is smarter than his parents, glad he is alive, Now it is time to ask for that PS4/WiiU or bike that you want!

0 ( +1 / -1 )

I'm relieved that they found him it was sure looking grim!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The kid was smart enough to find a safe place, and had water. His survival makes perfect sense to me. Personally I have gone two weeks without food. But without water, no that would lead to death. I will leave judging the parents up to others. We seem to have no shortage of people willing to cast judgement .

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Give the parents a break.

They're dealing with a kid with attitude.

They tried to dish out some tough love and it went a bit wrong.

Kid hung out in an SDF hut for a few days, fortunately didn't get eaten by a bear.

All's well that ends well.

-1 ( +3 / -4 )

Great news!!! So relieved that the boy was found safe!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

I've never been this relieved to be wrong. I'm so happy he's alive and well and I hope he recovers fully from this ordeal. And to those self righteous who say that those of us who thought badly of the parents are much, well let me tell you there's precedence of Japanese parents killing their kids and telling lies to cover up. Look up abuses cases in Japan. It's not prevalent, it's not something that only happens in Japan, it happens all over the world (I dare to say Mexico, where I live, is one of the countries with highest child abuse and murder ever...), but there is precedence in Japan and many of us drew conclusions from there. What parents lies about what they did to their child and reports two hours after the incident if they truly want to find their child? I don't care for the father's apology, that child deserves to live in a place where he is appreciated truly.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

You can live three weeks without food

1 ( +1 / -0 )

His parents should be ashamed!

Btw for people wondering, you can surrive between 7 to 9 days without food but only 2 dys without water

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Three down votes for saying the truth.... Sure you guys have an "elevated" sense of respect and humbleness

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

TigersTokyoDome: "You need to cease adding additional meanings to other peoples comments my friend. If you go back and read it all the way through this time I never said that the parents idiotic punishment was right and their child could easily have died. But I did say that a parents idea of a day out picking vegetables in the mountains is a healthy one and clearly this kid knew some basic survival instincts. Lucky or not, if the kid had poor instincts he would have wandered off away from the hut."

Not adding additional meanings at all. You said the boy displayed good survival instincts and therefore perhaps the parents had not been abusive after all, as though anything good they may have taught him negates the simple fact that abandoning a child is abuse. Don't backtrack and claim that is suddenly not what you meant when it is very clear that is indeed what you intended.

"Your assumptions on this case were so wrong that you are not entitled to criticise others posts with the easy benefit of hindsight."

Lots of people assumed the boy was dead, and many assumed as well that the parents killed him; that does not mean they are not entitled to an opinion on what is right or wrong. Not at all. THe fact that you apply such logic is proof that you cannot justify what you said earlier and just want to brush off valid criticism. If you were not entitled to opinion because you wrongly assumed something (not 'made a mistake', mind you), YOU would not be able to state opinions on many things given the many, many mistakes you have made about baseball in particular.

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

This is the best news I have read in a while. I'm afraid I had given up on this boy being found alive, it is wonderful that I made it through this horrible ordeal.

But I have to wonder if he should have been given back to his parents who are very much to blame for this incident.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

James Burke- the family at first said that the went to pick wild vegetables. That pointed the search area to the south and east of the road he was dropped off at. The path to the base was not the direction they thought he would heard...the logical (at the time) course was to search around the area they left him, south, and back the way the car came. The searchers themselves said it has never taken them this long to find someone. The parents skewed the search from the outset. And that's directly from the news!

Serrano, my comment was a direct translation of what they said on NHK.

My comment about the criticism of the SDF starting was down-voted, but that's exactly what people are doing.

Unless you're on the ground, or have experience, who's place is it to declare that others are incompetent?

It's my personal opinion, but I think that declaring someone dead before all the facts are in is just in poor taste. Yeah, I know, I know...taste and self-restraint have no place on discussion boards, but one can always hope.

I find the declarative certainty with which some people post to be bizarre. One day everyone's an expert on proper care of bison in Yosemite, the next day these same people ( on the net in general) are experts in tranquilizer darts and proper handling techniques for gorillas. This week everyone's an expert in search and rescue, and can tell the SDF what to do. I have no idea about the psychological mechanisms behind it, but it is interesting. It's not just here of course, but anywhere you look on the net.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

My experience in the wilderness is spending my entire childhood in forest and mountains that make Japan look like a manicured lawn (BC rainforests) plus years of animal (and people) tracking and ski guiding in Aomori's backcountry.

If they found no tracks at the location where the parents said he would be, then the parents' information should have been considered unreliable and normal tracking procedures followed.

The entire road should have been checked for tracks in both directions because most lost people follow roads and rivers. Any caves, natural overhangs, forest huts, log cabins, etc. are the first places most people are likely to take shelter if they find one, especially if it's raining.

A helicopter with flir on the first night of the search probably would have found him as he walked to the hut.

I am glad they found him, it just seems sloppy that 200 people could not find any tracks and were ALL in the wrong places.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

James, thank you for your viewpoint. I appreciate someone with actual experience weighing in. Sorry to have been snarky. It's been a long few days on the net, slogging through so many posts with so many people that have no idea what they're talking about second-guessing and condemning everything and anything, and declaring the child dead. I think I reached my tolerance level yesterday. :-)

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Its nice to see this young lad back safe and sound with his parents, i hope 1: that th parents have learned an important lesson from this, 2: send them a bill for all of the costings for mounting this operation.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

That father should have been suffering not only from the concern about safety of his child, but also heartless severe criticisms by anonymous on the internet.

I knew from the beginning he had been alive while you were saying that "The boy must be dead already" What are people doing who had been insisting that "the father is suspicious, definitely he had to kill him" ? You have to say something to that boy's father, don't you?

but it is great that finally the boy found totally safe. I hope they can build good relationship again from now on.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I'm not sure they could have got a heli with special equipment there in time to find him on the way to the hut. They also would not have known where to look.

Regarding the search, I wonder if they went along all the mountain roads with a loudspeaker giving him a message to shout out as loud as he could. The area in question is criss-crossed with roads. He spent five days in a location where any repeated cries for help would have been heard by people on the golf course. They could have covered a vast area in a short time with kei trucks and local elections speakers, no special equipment or SDF required.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Great that the kid was found.

As I noted in many posts on this topic, he was NOT in an area where they were looking and he WAS sheltering.

James makes some good points above, but leaves out an important point when he says "most people do x." This boy was quite young, and could not have been expected to do what most people do anyway. Factor in that he was probably not hoping to be found for the first day or so (he was angry at his dad's punishment), and one would come to the conclusions that I came to. The kid was likely to go to shelter. FLIR would not be helpful for that reason. They were looking in the wrong place.

People will claim that hindsight is 20 20, but in this case, they could have found the kid two days earlier if they had read my posts. I will pat myself on the back for this one.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

James makes some good points above, but leaves out an important point when he says "most people do x." This boy was quite young, and could not have been expected to do what most people do anyway.

So many people said 'a kid would do x' or 'a kid wouldn't do x'. Every single one of them was wrong. It's ridiculous to think that adults who have never been in that situation would know what a 7-year old kid in that situation would do, particularly if they grew up in different cultures than the kid.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Another case was brought to light yesterday on NHK, that happened in Kanazawa last month. A mother dumped her 7-year-old boy on a mountain road because he wouldn't do his homework. She went back for him, and he was gone. They found him right away as he hadn't gone far, he was huddled under a tree. How many other cases are there that don't make the news? I wish people would stop doing this.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

"They found him right away"

Wrong! The parents called the police and fire department and with loads of people looking for the boy they found him AFTER ONE HOUR.

"How many other cases are there that don't make the news?"

Well obviously quite a few as this was reported only after the Yamato-kun case made worldwide news and the Japanese authorities realized they have a major PR problem.

JT readers know all about the daily diet of disgusting stories highlighting deranged Japanese parenting, and now the whole world does too.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Compared to 6 days, one hour is a very short time.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

A helicopter with a standard SAR FLIR device can scan several degrees of terrain at a time including inside houses/huts at a medium magnification. That means they can scan quite a large area of ground in a very short time. A single helicopter with this technology would have done more use than all of those searchers who in the end did absolutely nothing useful.

The cost of those searchers in one way or another (even if they were volunteers) probably cost more than it would to buy and install a flir unit either from a military surplus source or from other sources. You can even get them on ebay.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

"Throwing rocks at cars and people and then storming off into the woods"

I will let you into a secret.

The boy was playing in the man-made water feature and having fun. He collects small stones from the water as kids like to do. The boy keeps them to take home with him, like kids do. His evil father asks: "what do you have there?" The boy answers innocently and the evil father says: "you're not taking those dirty things home, get rid of them"

So the boy throws them away. Not at any cars; not at any people. He throws the stones away because that is what his father told him to do. And because of that the evil father left the seven-year-old boy in the woods.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I just saw a mother at Kawaguchi station leave her crying 6 year old on the stairs of a park and pretend to walk away and was out of site from the kid.

Oh, god, more armchair parenting.

I did this with my kids, and anyone who doesn't becomes a slave to their kids crying, where the kids can decide they aren't going anywhere just by crying.

Of course you can't just leave the kid, but you can get around the corner and then the trick is keeping an eye on them without being seen, because if they know you are watching, they know you aren't truly walking away.

But now the armchair parents are going to hamstring parents by forcing them to be slaves to their children's tantrums.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

I just saw a mother at Kawaguchi station leave her crying 6 year old on the stairs of a park and pretend to walk away and was out of site from the kid.

Pretending to walk away from Kawaguchi Station and peering from round the corner is a far, far cry from actually driving away from a bear-infested mountainside.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"The research on this kind of discipline needs to be discussed by the public"

The point is that this abuse is not used for "discipline" because just two weeks ago I saw a small girl in a clothes supermarket who was crying in one of the aisles. The aisle she was in was empty. No mother. I looked in the aisles on either side. No mother.

So I called over one of the staff members and told her to go and attend to the girl because the girl was CRYING BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T KNOW WHERE HER MOTHER WAS. The mother did not walk off because the girl was crying and there was no tantrum. The girl was crying because the mother was nowhere to be seen.

I suppose the mother eventually turned up.

So here's what was happening. Instead of the mother looking after the child and watching her every move, the mother has put the responsibility on the child to watch the mother's every move. The mother is teaching the child that if you don't notice that I have gone because you are caught up in your own little world (playing with some toys on the shelf in this case) then it is your problem. And if you get abducted, it is your fault. Because even though I am your mother, I don't actually care about you.

So let me recap. The leaving of the child was not a punishment for being naughty in a way that the child can know she is being naughty. It is LAZY, PSYCHOTIC PARENTING because the mother feels bad about not being able to afford the toys in the supermarket.

Welcome to Japan!!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

@Strangerland,

Have to agree with you on this one.

But do remember that "It takes a village" mentality in child rearing. This armchair parenting is a sumptom of that disease.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

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