7-year-old found six days in Japan forest..

A seven-year-old boy who was abandoned in a forest in Japan by his parents has been found safe.
Yamato Tanooka had been missing for nearly a week when he was discovered in a military hut by a soldier.

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.

His safe return was welcomed in a nation riveted by his disappearance and undergoing intense soul-searching about how it raises and disciplines its children.
Yamato's story, pieced together from comments from the military and police, was an admirable tale of resourcefulness and resilience.

His parents, trying to teach him a lesson for misbehaving and throwing rocks, made him get out of the car last Saturday on the northernmost main island of Hokkaido in a forest where bears are known to live. They returned several minutes later but could not find him.

After apparently walking for some distance, the boy found the empty hut in a military drill area about 3.4 miles from where he had been left and entered a door that had been left open.

The building had no heat or power and no food, but Yamato huddled between mattresses on the floor and drank water from the solitary tap outside the hut for several days, local media reported.

posted from Bloggeroid