Highlights Parents initially told cops he got lost but later admitted they left him The forest is inhabited by bears; 180 rescuers, sniffer dogs deployed Outrage online condemning action by parents, many called it abuse 
 
 Japanese rescuers scoured thick forest on Tuesday in search of a seven-year-old boy whose parents left him in mountain woods inhabited by bears as a punishment, in a case that has infuriated the public.The parents originally told police the boy got lost on Saturday while they were hiking to gather wild vegetables - but later admitted that they had left him in the forest to punish him.The boy, Yamato Tanooka, went missing in mountains on Japan's main northern island of Hokkaido, which is inhabited by wild bears.Yamato, his older sister, mother and father came to a park near the forest on Saturday, but the parents became angry when the boy threw stones at cars and people, Japanese police said.On the way back home, they made Yamato get out of the car and left him alone in the forest, driving the car about 500 metres (some 550 yards) away, TV Asahi and other reports said."They said they went back to the site immediately, but the boy was no longer there," a local police spokesman earlier told AFP.About 180 rescuers and police officers widened the search area on Monday, mobilising sniffer dogs and horses to go deeper into the woodlands, according to broadcaster NTV.Footage showed scores of officers clawing through overgrown forest and tall bushes as a helicopter hovered overhead.Police searched in the dark Sunday night with torches in hand and calling out for the boy, who was wearing a black jacket, navy blue pants and red sneakers when he disappeared, according to Kyodo news agency."I feel very sorry for my child," the boy's father told an NTV reporter. "I am so sorry for causing trouble for many people."Police said that they will look into filing neglect charges against the boy's parents, according to Kyodo.Meanwhile, Japanese people reacted with outrage on social media, condemning the actions of the parents."This is not punishment but abuse!" one Twitter post read. "The parents are so stupid that I am speechless." read another post.Many also worried about the fate of the child in the forest, alone and reportedly with no food or water as heavy rain fell overnight.Mitsuru Wakayama, a spokesman for the nearby town of Nanae, said local residents only occasionally pass through the mountainous area as a short cut."Not many people or cars pass by, and it gets totally dark as there are no lights," Wakayama said."It's not surprising to encounter bears anywhere in the area," he added. 

 Boy missing in Japanese forest after parents kicked him out of car as punishment 
 
 Updated 
 
 A seven-year-old boy is missing in a forest in northern Japan after his parents allegedly made him stand by the roadside as punishment for throwing stones at cars. 
 
 Key points: Boy missing for four days 
 
 Parents say they drove 500m up the road and when they returned the boy was gone 
 
 130 police are searching the forest on the island of Hokkaido where the boy went missing 
 
 Searchers combed a forest in Japan on Tuesday, with no clues about the fate of Yamato Tanooka, as social media erupted in anger towards his parents who said they abandoned him by a road as punishment for being naughty. 
 
 Police on horseback were among 130 rescuers scouring a mountainous area of the northern-most island of Hokkaido from dawn after the boy went missing on Saturday. 
 
 His parents first said he had disappeared while the family foraged for edible plants. 
 
 They later told police they had left him by the road to discipline him after he threw stones at people and cars. 
 
 They said they drove about 500 metres down the road, but when they went back a few minutes later he had disappeared. 
 
 The area is so remote that residents of the region say they rarely go through it. 
 
 "We have done an unforgivable thing to our child, and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone," Yamato's father Takayuki Tanooka, told television reporters. 
 
 "I just hope he is safe." 
 
 'I hear there's bears in there': Parents slammed on social media 
 
 Thousands of people took to social media, some to pray for Yamato's safety in an area where the temperature at night falls to 7 degrees Celsius. 
 
 Heavy rain is forecast for Tuesday night and the boy was wearing only a T-shirt and jeans when he went missing. 
 
 "When I think of him being alone in the woods like that, my heart aches," said one person on social media. 
 
 But most people on social media rebuked the parents as neglectful. 
 
 "If he was actually throwing stones at cars, that shows there wasn't a lot of discipline anyway — and probably not enough love either," one person said. 
 
 "Whatever the result, this is parental neglect. It's cold in the Hokkaido mountains, and I hear there are bears, too," another person said. 
 
 Reuters 
 
 Topics: missing-person, japan 
 
 First posted 

 Story highlights A seven-year-old boy has gone missing in woods in an area of Japan that is home to wild bears 
 
 His parents initially said he became lost after looking for wild vegetables with his family 
 
 (CNN) Rescue teams are searching for a seven-year-old boy missing for two days on a mountain range in Japan, after his parents abandoned him "as punishment." 
 
 The area near Nanae-cho, Hokkaido, in the country's north, is known to be home to wild bears. 
 
 The boy, Yamato Tanooka first went missing at around 4 p.m. local time (3 a.m. ET) on Saturday, according to a spokesman for the Hokkaido Prefectural Police. 
 
 Yamato Tanooka 
 
 He said police had received an emergency call from his parents at around 6 p.m., and were initially told that the boy had gone missing while on a day trip to the area with his parents and sister to collect wild vegetables. 
 
 The parents later admitted to police they had left the boy alone in the mountains while on the way home to punish him for throwing stones at passing cars and people. 
 
 Read More
– "Not many people or cars pass by, and it gets totally dark as there are no lights. It’s not surprising to encounter bears anywhere in the area." That's one local's rather intimidating description of the Japanese mountain forest where a 7-year-old has now been missing since 4pm Saturday after his parents left him alone briefly as punishment for throwing rocks, reports CNN. Yamato Tanooka hasn't been seen since his parents say they left him for roughly five minutes in the woods and returned to find him gone. The Guardian reports that a 180-person search party on the northern island of Hokkaido was combing the area, which has been expanded; dogs and horses have joined the search as well. One thing that search teams did reportedly find: fresh bear droppings. Yamato had no food or water on him, and was wearing a T-shirt, jeans, and a jacket when he went missing, reports the AFP. Sunday night saw heavy rain and temperatures that fell to 44 degrees; Australia's ABC News says heavy rain is again expected Tuesday night. Whether the parents will be charged with neglect remains unclear. The boy's father, Takayuki Tanooka, tells TV reporters that what he and his wife did was "an unforgivable thing ... I just hope he is safe." (This story of a missing boy had a happy ending.)