Japanese boy still missing after parents “punish” him by leaving him behind in bear-dwelling forest

A young boy is missing in Japan after his parents left him behind in a forest "as a punishment".

The search continues in the area of Hokkaido, north Japan, to find the boy, who is named Yamato Tano-oka and is aged 7. He has not been seen for over two days. CNN reports that the area is known to be home to wild bears. The parents of the child originally told authorities they were collecting vegetables when the boy disappeared, but later confessed they temporarily left him alone to punish him for his bad behaviour. "I was not able to ask for (a search) with a reason of punishment," the boy's father, Takayuki, reportedly said. "I thought it might be taken as a domestic violence."

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The child had been throwing stones at cars and people before the incident which led his parents to teach him a considerably harsh lesson. Speaking to Sansei newspaper, Takayuki spoke of his fears for his son:

"I wanted to discipline him, so made him get out of the car to scare him a bit. He's an active, lively boy, but I'm worried how he's doing."

The parents of the boy admitted to driving 500m away from the area to teach the child a lesson, but when they returned, Yamato was nowhere to be found. The boy’s father added: “I feel very sorry for my son. I am so sorry for causing trouble for so many people.” Members of the local community have now joined the growing search, with over 100 firefighters and police officers trying to help the family to find the child. The boy's parents have come in for a lot of criticism online since the news broke, not unlike the reaction to the parents in the story of the young child who fell into a gorilla pen at Cincinnati Zoo, resulting in the death of the animal. One Twitter commenter said: “I’m a parent too, so I understand (about discipline), but that was going way too far", while another one called the punishment "abuse".