Hokkaido police say abuse suspected in missing boy case

Hokkaido police believe psychological abuse may have been involved in the case of a missing boy found after six days in the mountains by himself, sources said June 5.

Officers at Hakodate Chuo Police Station submitted written notification about possible abuse to the Hakodate child consultation center on June 3.

Yamato Tanooka, 7, of Hokuto, Hokkaido, was discovered around 7:50 a.m. on June 3 in an accommodation hut at the Ground Self-Defense Force's Komagatake exercise area in Shikabe.

The boy was left in the mountains by his parents on May 28 as a form of discipline.

(THE ASAHI SHIMBUN)