'We have done an unforgivable thing to our child': Japanese parents who left their son, 7, in bear-infested woods as a punishment break their silence - as military joins search
- Yamato Tanooka was abandoned in forest on Saturday for being naughty
- There are fears he might not have survived heavy rains which fell overnight
- His father said: 'We've caused everyone a lot of trouble. I hope he is safe'
- Japan's military has now joined hundreds of police and volunteers in hunt
Yamato Tanooka (pictured) has been missing in a Japanese mountain range since Saturday after being left there as punishment by his parents
The parents who left their young son in bear-infested woods as a punishment have admitted doing 'an unforgivable thing' as the search for him entered a fifth day.
Japan's military today joined hundreds of police and volunteers in the hunt for seven-year-old Yamato Tanooka who was abandoned in dense forest on Saturday afternoon.
His parents initially said he disappeared while they foraged for plants, but later admitted to police that they had disciplined him for being naughty.
They have now finally broken their public silence after social media erupted in anger towards them for being so neglectful.
Yamato's father, Takayuki Tanooka, said: 'We have done an unforgivable thing to our child and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone.
'I just hope he is safe.'
Seventy-five members of the Japanese Self-Defence Forces have joined 200 police and civilians beating their way through thick brush in the mountainous forest on Hokkaido island.
A local hunter was also added to the search for Yamato Tanooka after fresh bear tracks were found in the area where he vanished on Saturday, Jiji news agency said.
Despite the larger search party no leads turned up on Wednesday, with many worrying the boy might not have survived heavy rains which fell on Tuesday night.
The boy's parents first said he disappeared while they foraged for edible plants, but later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars.
They said when they drove back a few minutes later the boy had disappeared.
The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it.
He was last seen wearing a T-shirt and jeans in an area where the overnight temperatures can fall as low as 7C (45F).
Race against time; Hundreds of police and volunteers have joined the hunt for Yamato Tanooka
The search has gripped Japan, with news programmes offering hourly updates.
Thousands have also taken to the internet to both pray for the boy's survival and excoriate his parents for what is seen as neglect.
One wrote: 'If I was a small child in this situation I would either run after the car or wait there until they came back. I just hope he is safely found.'
Thousands of people took to social media, some to pray for Yamato's safety.
The parents of a seven-year-old boy missing in a Japanese mountain range (file picture) where bears live admit they lied about his disappearance and left him there as punishment during a family hike
'When I think of him being alone in the woods like that, my heart aches,' said one person posting on social media.
But most people on social media rebuked the parents as neglectful.
'If he was actually throwing stones at cars, that shows there wasn't a lot of discipline anyway – and probably not enough love either,' said one person.
'Whatever the result, this is parental neglect. It's cold in the Hokkaido mountains, and I hear there are bears, too,' said another person.
His parents originally told police Yamato got lost while the family were out walking in the area, a habitat of bears, to pick wild vegetables (file picture of a bear on Hokkaido)
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