Tokyo – The search for a seven-year-old boy missing in a forest in the country’s north has entered its fifth day on Wednesday.

The boy, identified as Yamato Tanooka, has been missing since Saturday in the mountains of Japan’s north island of Hokkaido after his parents said they made him get out their car as punishment for misbehaving.

Today, Japan’s military has joined the search. According to the AFP, a total of 75 personnel from the Ground Self-Defence Force – Japan’s army – joined some 130 fire rescuers, police officers and volunteers to look for the boy.

The boy’s parents initially told authorities that their son had disappeared while they were picking wild vegetables, but later admitted they made him get out of the car and left him behind “as discipline” for throwing stones at cars and people.

Yamato’s father Takayuki Tanooka had told television reporters he was afraid to tell the truth when he first requested the search.

“We have done an unforgivable thing to our child, and we have caused a lot of trouble for everyone,” he said. “I just hope he is safe.”

Police have said they are considering whether charges should be laid against the parents, according to Kyodo News.

– TiVi Tuan-san