Yamato Tanooka: Japanese boy abandoned in bear-infested woods is discharged from hospital

The Japanese boy who was lost in dense forest after his parents abandoned him as a punishment was today discharged from hospital.

Wearing a black baseball cap, Yamato Tanooka stopped to smile and wave to a crowd of onlookers as he emerged from Hakodate Municipal Hospital on the northern island of Hokkaido.

The seven-year-old, who said he forgave his father for leaving him, was holding a baseball crafted out of paper that appeared to carry written messages of support.

Takayuki Tanooka, 44, and his wife briefly left Yamato by the side of the road on the northern island of Hokkaido on 28 May as punishment.

When they came back he was gone. A huge search was launched and the boy was found at a military base on Friday.

Mr Tanooka said: “I said to him, ‘Dad made you go though such a hard time. I am sorry’.”

“And then, my son said, ‘You are a good dad. I forgive you’.”