Diplomatic search on for Thai boy's missing Japanese dad

May 13, 2009, 3:32 GMT

   Bangkok - Thailand's Foreign Ministry on Wednesday launched a diplomatic mission to track down the Japanese father of a 9-year-old Thai-Japanese boy whose search for his missing dad has plucked the heartstrings of the nation.

   The plight of Keigo Zato, who has been searching for his father Katzumi Zato by approaching foreign tourists at Tha Luang temple in Phichit province with a photo of his dad, made the front page of the Bangkok Post on Tuesday, drawing the sympathy of Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva and Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya, among others.               'Both the prime minister and foreign minister think that we should help locate the boy's father,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Tharit Charungvat said.

   The ministry plans to interview Keigo Zato for more details about his father and then seek assistance from the Japanese embassy in Bangkok and the Thai embassy in Tokyo and consulate in Osaka to help track down the missing dad.

   According to the Bangkok Post, Keigo's mother Thipmontha Zato died on April 3, this year, leaving him in the care of an aunt and grandfather in Phichit, 250 kilometres north of Bangkok.

   Before dying, Thipmontha told her son to wait for his father at the Tha Luang temple where the couple were married.

   The boy has been going to the temple every day since his mother's death, looking for his father among visiting tourists, showing them his last photo of the man.