'I'm hungry': First words of Japanese boy, 7, found in a disused military base six days after he was left in bear-infested woods – as his father tells him 'I'm so sorry for causing you such pain'

A Japanese boy who miraculously survived six days alone in a bear-infested forest without food did not shed a tear when he was found and told his rescuer he was hungry before wolfing down rice balls and bread.

Yamato Tanooka, 7, was rushed to hospital suffering exhaustion and dehydration but otherwise apparently unharmed on Friday after he was found deep in woods on the northern island of Hokkaido.

He was discovered inside an old Self-Defense Forces training facility in the town of Shikabe about three miles from where he disappeared after a massive search involving hundreds of police, military and volunteers. 

Last Saturday his parents made him get out of their car as punishment for misbehaving, leaving him behind in a wooded area. When they returned minutes later, he had disappeared. Police said they are considering filing neglect charges against them, according to Kyodo News.

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Japanese boy Yamato Tanooka was taken to Hakodate hospital by helicopter after he miraculously survived for six days in a bear-infested forest where he had been left as punishment by his parents on Saturday

Seven-year-old Yamato told rescuers who found him he was hungry before wolfing down rice balls and bread

'We went too far': Tamayuki Tanooka, Yamato's father, has apologised to his son and those involved in the search effort

A member of the Self-Defence Forces shows the mattress which the seven-year-old boy was using inside the military facility

When he was found, the youngster devoured two rice balls the soldier gave him but did not shed a tear, the military said. He looked a bit worn out but was 'genki' – a Japanese word describing healthy children.

The boy said he had walked to the SDF facility on his own through the mountains.

A member of Japan's Self-Defence Forces told NHK national television said: 'One of our soldiers was preparing for drills this morning and unlocked the door of a building on the base, and there he was.

'When he asked "are you Yamato?" the boy said yes. Then he said he was hungry, so the soldier gave him some water, bread and riceballs.' 

Local media reported the boy survived by sleeping between two mattresses inside the abandoned military dormitory which was an unheated wooden building.

He told police had had been drinking water from a tap outside the building while he was staying inside the military base.

Dr Yoshiyuki Sakai, the doctor who examined Yamato, told Asahi TV the child appeared to be in a good condition for a boy who had not had food for six days. 

Rescue workers moving missing boy Yamato Tanooka on a stretcher to a hospital in the town of Shikabe in Hokkaido on Friday

According to local authorities he was given some water and a rice ball by his rescuers

Yamato is flown in an air ambulance to hospital where he was reunited with his parents

The seven-year-old was suffering mild dehydration and malnutrition, and had a mild rash and scratches on his arms and legs.

According to The Guardian, a doctor said: 'He was incredibly calm considering he had been missing for seven days. He didn’t panic at all'.

Appearing outside the hospital where he was reunited with his son, his father Takayuki Tanooka said: 'We have raised him with love all along.

'I really didn't think it would come to that. We went too far. I thought we were doing it for my son's own good.'

Asked what he had told his son, Mr Tanooka, fighting back tears, said: 'I told him I was so sorry for causing him such pain.' 

The nation welcomed the boy's safe return. Old photos of Yamato, of him wearing a cowboy hat, holding up two fingers in a peace sign, or with his fringe falling over a proud smile, were flashed across TV screens again and again.   

An aerial image of the dormitory buildings at the Ground Self-Defense Force Komagatake exercise area where Yamato was found on Friday

This is the building in a military drill area where Yamato stayed for six days as searchers looked for him

A soldier shows the mattresses that Yamato had been sleeping between while searchers looked for him

Vast: The boy was found in a military shelter (centre bottom) in a huge expanse of bear-infested forest three miles from where he was left

This image shows the places where Yamato Tanooka was left alone by his parents (front) and where he was found (back) in Nanae, Japan

Daijiro Hashimoto, a former governor appearing on a talk show on TV Asahi, wondered how the boy had endured the loneliness, especially at night, and suggested that perhaps he had imagined he was on an adventure and was hiding in a secret camp.

'He had to keep a very positive attitude,' Mr Hashimoto said, reflecting widespread sentiment in the country. 'He is fantastic. He didn't know how long it might take, and when he would ever be saved.' 

Earlier in the week, Mr Tanooka expressed deep regret for his actions, saying: '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.'

More than 180 rescuers, including soldiers, were scouring the Higashionuma area where the parents said they dropped the boy off.

There were no signs of the boy or any eyewitness reports of him, according to police. 

Bears are sometimes seen in the mountains of Hokkaido, but an attack by one of the animals is unlikely because none has been spotted in the area, the authorities said.  

The missing Japaanese boy Yamato Tanooka, seven, was found after six days in a bear-infested forest

'We've reflected on what we did and it was really excessive,' the boy's father said

Takayuki Tanooka addressed the media on the day his son was found alive after six days in a forest

Rescuers are seen here celebrating the news that Yamato had been found alive

Tamayuki Tanooka said he made Yamato get out of the car to 'discipline' him and drove off. But when he returned a few minutes later he was nowhere to be seen

Yamato trekked for three miles through mountainous woodland after being abandoned between Shikabe and Onuma on Hokkaido

The boy's mysterious disappearance had captured international attention, with many praying for his safe return.

Many people bitterly criticised the parents, triggering a debate over whether their treatment of the boy was discipline or child abuse. 

The parents initially said he disappeared while they were picking wild vegetables, but later admitted they made him get out of the car as 'discipline' after he threw stones at people during a visit to a park. 

Mr Tanooka said the boy was gone when he drove back to the spot a few minutes later. 

Police said they are considering whether the parents should be charged with child abandonment. 

'Making children obey by giving them fear or pain is bad parenting, it's abuse,' Naoki Ogi, a professor of education at Hosei University, said in his blog. 

Pictured is the military site the boy was found at after six days on his own

Media gather outside Hakodate Hospital where the boy was taken after being found

Police said more than 180 rescuers, including soldiers, were searching the area where the boy was believed to have been dropped off

Most people on social media rebuked the parents as neglectful and according to reports, the story sparked a nationwide discussion about what was acceptable parenting.

'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.

The Higashionuma area is so remote residents of the Nanae region, just north of the city of Hakodate, say they rarely travel through it. 

Yamato was last seen wearing a T-shirt and jeans in an area where the overnight temperatures can fall as low as 7C (45F). 

Yamato is not a common child's name in Japan. It is a name for ancient Japan and a famous battleship, the Yamato, sank in April 1945 with the loss of 3,000 sailors after going on a final 'suicide mission' at the end of World War II. 

Search team: There have been no signs of the boy or any eyewitness reports of him, according to police

The parents of a seven-year-old boy missing in the Higashionuma mountain range (file picture) where bears live admit they lied about his disappearance and left him there as punishment during a family hike