A boy missing in remote woods in Japan since Saturday after being left alone by his parents as punishment has been found alive and well.
Seven-year-old Yamato Tanooka was found in a military training base near Shikabe in Hokkaido, just a few kilometres from where he was left, the BBC reports.
His parents initially said he had got lost, but eventually admitted briefly abandoning him for being naughty.
His father has apologised to his son and rescuers, saying “we went too far.”
“My excessive act forced my son to have a painful time,” Takayuki Tanooka said in an emotional news briefing outside Hakodate hospital, 30km (19 miles) south, where the boy was taken for checks.
“I deeply apologise to people at his school, people in the rescue operation, and everybody for causing them trouble,” he said.
“I have poured all my love into my son, but from now on, I would want to do more, together with him. I would like to protect him while he grows up. Thank you very much.”