Japan dad apologises for abandoning son, thanks rescuers

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Father of Yamato Tanooka, a seven-year-old boy missing since being abandoned in a bear-inhabited forest in northern Japan, speaks to reporters in Hakodate on June 3, 2016. The boy, apparently unharmed and in good health, was discovered at a military base. Reports said he had taken shelter in a hut and found a tap to drink from but was hungry and immediately asked for food when discovered. / AFP PHOTO / JIJI PRESS / JIJI PRESS / Japan OUT
Father of Yamato Tanooka, a seven-year-old boy missing since being abandoned in a bear-inhabited forest in northern Japan, speaks to reporters in Hakodate on June 3, 2016.
The boy, apparently unharmed and in good health, was discovered at a military base. Reports said he had taken shelter in a hut and found a tap to drink from but was hungry and immediately asked for food when discovered. / AFP PHOTO /

TOKYO, Japan (AFP) — The father of a seven-year-old Japanese boy who went missing for nearly a week after his parents abandoned him in a mountain forest as punishment apologized on Friday hours after his son was found safe.

“My excessive act forced my son to have a painful time,” Yamato Tanooka’s father told reporters outside the hospital where his son was being treated.

“I deeply apologize to people at his school, people in the rescue operation, and everybody for causing them trouble,” he added, thanking the rescuers.

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