Yuki Adachi’s disappearance on March 23 in Kyoto has renewed attention on the fate of missing children in Japan
4-MIN READ4-MIN ListenJulian RyallPublished: 8:00am, 9 Apr 2026Frustration and desperation are growing in Japan amid a search for an 11-year-old boy who disappeared more than two weeks ago in a rural part of Kyoto prefecture, with 700 police officers scouring abandoned properties in the mountains surrounding the town of Nantan.The lack of sightings and clues has triggered speculation – a good deal of it sensationalist – on the boy’s fate and focused renewed attention on the number of children who go missing every year in Japan.
The father of Yuki Adachi told police he dropped his son off around 200 metres from his school at 8am on March 23, but the child failed to appear in class and a teacher informed his parents shortly before midday. The boy’s father immediately reported the disappearance to local police.
The following day, officers discovered the boy’s backpack along a mountain track about 3km northwest of the school but have made no progress in their investigation since.
Some 400 fire brigade members have also joined the search, which has used drones to scan mountain areas while inflatable boats have been brought in to search a large nearby reservoir.
According to an annual survey by the education ministry released on March 3 covering the 2024 academic year, school authorities are unable to account for 74 children across the country. The ministry is calling on local education boards to work with regional welfare organisations and governments to locate the children.
