"Dad doesn't love me" : forlorn Keigo Zato

"Dad doesn't love me," he said yesterday. He has yet to receive any call from his father in Japan.

Growing up with his aunt in Phichit, Keigo has long wished to hug his father.

Keigo's dream almost came true when his search for his father, using a photo, caught media attention and the Japanese embassy in Bangkok agreed to help.

However, the boy was finally told that his father felt uncomfortable with all the publicity and would not rush to meet Keigo.

"I just want Dad to come to me fast. I don't want anything else from you. I don't want your money … Please let me hug you. … I want to have a father like all the other kids. And I want my friends to stop teasing me for being a love child," he said.

Keigo's aunt Pattama Jatupis said the Japanese embassy only informed her that the boy's father could not come to Thailand but would make a private phone call to Keigo.

"My nephew is so upset that his dad will not come to meet him," she said.

Keigo had cried before falling silent and depressed, she said. On her deathbed, his mother told him that his father would soon come to see him.

The Phichit Residents Association has promised to give Keigo a Bt10,000 scholarship every year until he finishes college.

Deputy Prime Minister Sanan Kachornprasart has instructed Phichit Governor Somchai Hatayatanti to give special attention to Keigo's case.

"I have already told the local public health office to send a psychologist to visit Keigo," Somchai said.

Boon Rawd Trading had offered three air tickets for Keigo to reunite with his father, he said.

"If the father agrees to visit Thailand, the tickets can be TokyoBangkokTokyo. Or if the boy wishes to fly to Japan to meet his father, the tickets can be arranged for BangkokTokyoBangkok," he said.