Japan’s military on Wednesday joined the search for a seven-year-old boy missing in the country’s north since his parents said they abandoned him in a bear-inhabited mountain forest, officials said. A total of 75 personnel from the Ground Self-Defence Force – Japan’s army – joined 130 fire rescuers, police officers and volunteers to look for the boy, rescuer Satoshi Saito told AFP by telephone. The parents told police they abandoned Yamato on a road, bounded on both sides by thick mountain forests, but quickly returned to find him missing. “The military personnel will scour the mountain slope,” said Saito, the rescuer. Related: Desperate hunt continues for Japanese boy left in forest by parents as punishmentYamato Tanooka has been missing since Saturday after his parents said they made him get out of their car on a mountain road as punishment for misbehaving.

Source: The Guardian June 01, 2016 04:18 UTC