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File photo Shutterstock/Mark Carthy

Boy (2) who was missing in Japanese woods for three days rescued unharmed

It is believed the boy may have drank river water to survive his ordeal.

A TWO-YEAR-old boy who went missing in woods in western Japan has been found unharmed after three days alone, apparently surviving on river water as volunteers hunted desperately for him.

Yoshiki Fujimoto disappeared on Sunday morning in the Yamaguchi region while out walking with his brother and grandfather, and the search for him made headlines nationwide.

Police and locals combed the woods looking for him, but it was a 78-year-old volunteer from a neighbouring region who stumbled upon the toddler this morning.

“I shouted ‘Yo-chan’,” Haruo Obata told local television, a red towel wrapped around his head against the summer heat.

“He replied ‘yes, here’ and there he was,” added Obata, a retiree who said he regularly volunteers in disaster relief efforts.

The toddler was sitting on a rock, with his bare feet in a small puddle of water in front of him, Obata said.

“At first, I didn’t think it was a human,” he told reporters. “But there he was. I thought my heart was going to stop.”

The toddler’s miraculous survival is all the more astonishing given the hot weather in Japan in recent weeks, with local media saying the temperature where he went missing hit 34 degrees Celsius during his three-day ordeal.

The woodland area has creeks and rivers, and some media speculated the resourceful tot, who turned two on Monday while he was missing, survived by drinking from them.

“He doesn’t have any major injuries, just a few scratches and slight dehydration,” said Hiroyuki Nishihara, an official at the local hospital treating Fujimoto.

But his life isn’t in danger and he will be able to leave the hospital very soon.

The toddler disappeared on Sunday after his grandfather let him walk back alone to the house – around 100 metres away – where the child’s mother was waiting.

But Fujimoto never made it to the house, and appears to have wandered off en route, prompting a massive manhunt that gripped Japan during its quiet summer season.

Drones with optical and thermal cameras, search dogs and helicopters were drafted in for the search, along with around 160 police and more volunteers.

But in the end, he was found just a few hundred metres from where he disappeared, to his family’s relief.

“I couldn’t help but squeeze him tight,” his tearful mother Mio Fujimoto told local television. “I’m so grateful my son returned safely… He is sleeping tight now, he seemed relieved but tired.”

“That this volunteer would come all the way here, all we can do is offer thanks from the bottom of our hearts,” the boy’s grandfather added.

© – AFP, 2018

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    Mute Anti_Social_Network
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:18 PM

    813 a night? Id want a hooker thrown in

    165
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    Mute Martin Bishop
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:22 PM

    Maybe in Amsterdam you’d have a chance

    34
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    Mute Phil West
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:10 PM

    It is just a different way of getted f**ked.

    58
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    Mute Ted Carroll
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:21 PM

    How much does a person without Health Insurance pay for a public bed in a public hospital? It surely can’t be over €800 and if it’s not this price why should a person who pays health insurance not get the same rates as everyone else. I pay Health Insurance but I also pay the same taxes as everyone so I don’t see why the Government needs to charge a private health insurance customer such an extraordinary fee for the same bed.

    97
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    Mute Catherine Sims
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:32 PM

    What your paying for Ted is queue jumping. You get your bed in weeks as opposed to months or years if you public.

    48
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    Mute Luke Sullivan
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:39 PM

    There’s a strong case to be made for allowing patients on waiting lists here fly to the UK or elsewhere in the EU to have operations, with medical clearance obviously, and the HSE picks up the bill here for it.

    I’d say it would work out cheaper very often, save lives, and reduce queues too.

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    Mute Anti_Social_Network
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:47 PM

    capitalism is great isn’t it

    30
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    Mute Ted Carroll
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:56 PM

    Luke I think we’re probably at a time when most people would outsource our entire public service to someone else if they could. We’ve made an absolute mess of everything and nobody seems to have any idea how to fix it. Do we have best practice in any of our public sectors? And before anyone takes my head off I’m not attacking the day to day staff, the system is broken and no amount of good staff can repair something which is so fundamentally broken.

    31
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    Mute Reg
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:59 PM

    I think the maximum you can be charged is € 700 for a whole year. I dropped my health insurance last year so was one of the things I checked.

    20
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    Mute John B
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:09 PM

    Just to clarify, private insurance does not allow people to queue jump in a public hospital. If your treatment can be performed in a private hospital then yes it will be quicker privately but as a private patient in a public hospital the waiting is the same.

    22
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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 6:52 PM

    € 100 per day to a Max of €700 in the year, and it don’t matter if your are public or private you get the shame care from the nurses, and the same food. The only difference is getting there faster

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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 6:54 PM

    Bull shit of course they jump the queue, more money for the consultant treating a private client than a public one.

    11
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    Mute Lester Jeffcoat
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:20 PM

    Burn the bedholders!

    78
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    Mute Shit you not
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:26 PM

    For the first time I’m going out in the big bad world without health insurance as anytime I go to use it it’s not available for whatever I want.
    I am putting the cash straight into a savings account instead!

    58
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    Mute Matthew Hyland
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:22 PM

    Health insurance for the average person is a pure waste of money. I’ve paid about €25k over last 14 years for it.
    Total payout to hospitals etc: €4k.
    Should have put it into copper…

    47
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    Mute Larry Bird
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:29 PM

    Well, it’s one of those things that you only appreciate the one time you need it. My cousin had it all his life and stopped paying last year, now he has serious heart problems and he’s looking at 2-5 year waiting list (it would be about 1-4 months if he kept his health insurance)

    27
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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 6:58 PM

    Private health insurance is like the lotto. If your numbers come up and you don’t have the ticket for are f@@#ed if you get sick and no health insurance, well you get the gist

    2
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    Mute Tony Hickey
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:18 PM

    Think the minister is getting strategy totally wrong – surely putting up public hospital costs for patients with health insurance will only prove negative – now much cheaper to get treatment in a private hospital

    33
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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:01 PM

    I can see an opening for private clinics /hospitals and insurance companies having policies to cover the mundane procedures carried out in public hospitals. In addition to the policies that cover the likes of the Mater an Bkackrock

    1
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    Mute Bee Shop
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:22 PM

    These increases are not necessary. Avivas profits are fine. If the ‘regret’ having to do that, why can’t they not do it? Stupid.

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    Mute Tony Hickey
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 11:12 PM

    Seeing as approx 50% of population still have health insurance why is there no private a&e service available outside Dublin? Would be much quicker, cheaper and efficient. Many treatments are still only available in the public hospitals.

    4
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    Mute Tony Hickey
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 11:12 PM

    Seeing as approx 50% of population still have health insurance why is the no private a&e service available outside Dublin? Would be much quicker, cheaper and efficient. Many treatments are still only available in the public hospitals.

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    Mute Right Wing Steve ©
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:37 PM

    I blame Pat Kenny

    23
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    Mute Julie Grey
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:38 PM

    Had to give up our health insurance 2 years ago.Still nervous about decision but just couldn’t keep it going! Was costing nearly as much as our mortgage yearly!

    22
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    Mute Matt
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:46 PM

    Average mortgage €12k a year. What health insurance did you have?

    20
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    Mute YourAuldLady
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:53 PM

    Who said 12k is the average? Our mortgage is 400 quid a month.

    Our health cover is 3.5k a year.

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    Mute Marc
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:57 PM

    Some people pay over €2k a month

    18
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    Mute Julie Grey
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:17 PM

    Sorry worded that wrong our mortgage interest would be about 4 k health insurance was nearly 3.5k 5 kids and us just got to be too much of a luxury!

    9
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    Mute Nigel O Keeffe
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:43 PM

    5.2%increase..wheres the low or negative inflation we keep hearing about?

    20
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    Mute Norman Hunter
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 2:56 PM

    Only applies to wages.

    19
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    Mute Kerry Blake
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:27 PM

    Think the bold Reilly was claiming there would be no increase in health insurance after his changes in the budget. That claim can be filled under bull shit along with his free medical insurance for all plan…..

    34
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    Mute Aoife Carey
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 4:02 PM

    I have health insurance with vhi which is due for renewal in january. I’m dreading getting the renewal notice as I know the premium will have gone up. As it is vhi sent me a letter a couple of weeks ago trying to justify price increases. Only thing I dont know yet is exactly how much the increase will be. Just hope it doesn’t go up so much that i have to give up my health insurance. I know I’m not the only one in this position.

    15
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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:35 PM

    Aoife ,shop around. I got lower premium than the vhi, with aviva, I had to drop full cover for partial on the Mater/Black rock and with three of us on the policy it made a huge difference, same cover with VHI was €1000 dearer.

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    Mute Milena Truf
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 11:48 PM

    Hear, hear. We renewed ours last month – the quotation for our plan from Laya was 1000 more than the year before, so I went online and discovered they have a better plan, and for the old price, but it is only advertised to employers? A quick call and now we are paying the same as last year, for a better cover.

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    Mute Gillian Doyle
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 3:46 PM

    I’m so nervous not to have it…. But the last few times I’ve needed to use it I’ve had to pay the hospitals directly myself & then reclaim (a portion!) this kills me nearly as much as the premiums. Nobody plans on being ill & if your paying for the insurance you’d expect to have peace of mind about the hospital fees!

    15
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    Mute potatoman
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 5:06 PM

    Ah jaysus lads. Do they just want to kill us off altogether?

    9
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    Mute Alan Dunne
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 6:31 PM

    Do you get to keep the bed

    9
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    Mute Science of Beer
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:10 PM

    What do you need health insurance for, if you get sick there is a duty of care to ensure you are looked after. Gave mine up once I was made redundant a few years ago, saved near 10k which would have been spent on unnecessary insurance.

    4
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    Mute Miss Filed
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 9:42 PM

    I am amazed so many people can afford such a luxury!

    3
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    Mute Gwen Lanigan-o'keeffe
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 5:21 PM

    Does anyone know what the breakdown of costs are for a bed in a hospital? Surely it is not the breakfast?

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    Mute Chris Doherty
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 7:37 PM

    Way more than Travel Lodge

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    Mute Charlene Hogan
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    Dec 2nd 2013, 9:48 PM

    RIP net pay

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