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Yomiuri Shimbun
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Exoneree Calls for Retrial System Reform After Acquittal; Help Sought from Sister of Acquitted Death Row Inmate
A man acquitted on Friday of the 1986 murder of a teenage girl in a retrial expressed a strong commitment to reforming Japan's retrial system. Shoshi Maekawa, 60, was sentenced to seven years in prison for the murder of a junior high school student, a crime for which he consistently asserted his innocence. He is now appealing for help from Hideko Hakamata, the 92-year-old sister of 89-year-old Iwao Hakamata, who in a retrial was acquitted of the 1966 murder of a family in Shizuoka Prefecture. Maekawa spoke with Hideko in an online call from his home in Fukui on Monday. He reported the news of his acquittal and asked for her 'cooperation in bringing about a review of the retrial system.' In January, Maekawa visited Hideko's home in Hamamatsu and was given a blue hat belonging to Iwao. Maekawa wore that hat on the day of his verdict at the Kanazawa branch of the Nagoya High Court. 'Thanks to the hat's protection, I was acquitted,' Maekawa told Hideko during the online call. Hideko happily responded, 'That's truly wonderful.' Issues remain in Japan's retrial system, including a lack of legal obligation to disclose evidence. 'We can't let this end here,' Maekawa stressed. 'We need to connect it to a review of the system.' Referring to a draft to revise the Criminal Procedure Code jointly submitted to the House of Representatives by six opposition parties, Hideko said, 'I want to see the debate gain serious momentum and [the law] enacted in the Diet session in autumn.' 'Hideko is a close companion; we both share the same aspirations,' Maekawa told reporters after the online call. 'I'm glad I could report this news to her.'
Straits Times
28-06-2025
- Straits Times
Japan's justice system under the spotlight over botched cases, fabricated evidence
Former Japanese boxer Iwao Hakamada, who was sentenced to hang in 1968 and released in 2014, and his sister Hideko (right) in Tokyo, on Nov 25, 2019. PHOTO: AFP – Japan's criminal justice system is under intense scrutiny after the courts have, within months, twice accused law enforcement officials of 'fabricating evidence' in their zealous pursuit of convictions. The damning indictments in two cases – one involving murder, the other economic security – expose flaws in a system that prides itself on a 99.8 per cent conviction rate. On Oct 8, 2024, the nearly six-decade ordeal of former boxer Iwao Hakamada finally concluded when prosecutors decided not to appeal a retrial verdict that had exonerated him of four murders in 1966. Mr Hakamada, now 89, was the world's longest-serving death row inmate. Sentenced to hang in 1968, a verdict upheld by the Supreme Court in 1980, his fight for a retrial finally led to his release on bail in 2014 and acquittal a decade later. More recently, on June 11, a High Court verdict was finalised to award Yokohama-based spray-drying equipment maker Ohkawara Kakohki 166 million yen (S$1.47 million) in damages. The court had heard a shocking admission from a police officer: The entire case was fabricated and driven by the 'personal greed' of his superiors eyeing promotions. The company, with fewer than 90 employees, makes equipment used for producing powdered products such as instant soup and pharmaceuticals. In March 2020, three senior executives including president Masaaki Ohkawara, now 76, and ex-director Junji Shimada, now 72, were arrested on suspicions that their equipment could be used to make biological weapons. They were accused of breaching export control laws by selling to countries such as China without appropriate permits. The trio were held for 332 days, with eight bail requests denied until February 2021. Tragically, bail came too late for former adviser Shizuo Aishima, who died of stomach cancer at 72 while in remand after failing to get proper medical attention. Prosecutors, who argued against granting bail as it could lead to the destruction of evidence, would eventually drop charges in July 2021, prompting the company to sue for damages . No apology was offered for four years, until prosecutors decided not to appeal the High Court judgment. In recent weeks, Japan's Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki expressed contrition on June 24 for 'causing great suffering and hardship', while Tokyo police and prosecutors visited the company on June 20, bowing in remorse. National Police Agency commissioner-general Yoshinobu Kusunoki called the situation 'extremely regrettable', acknowledging that 'public trust in the police has been undermined'. Global human rights watchdogs have long criticised Japan for 'hostage justice', characterised by prolonged detention, forced confessions, and a culture that effectively assumes suspects are guilty until proven innocent. Suspects can be held for up to 23 days upon arrest without access to a lawyer, a duration far longer than most other countries. This can be extended by court order, or if suspects are 're-arrested' on different charges. During this time, the police relentlessly pursue confessions and, reportedly, prosecutors lean on admissions of guilt rather than physical evidence in as many as nine out of 10 cases in deciding whether to go to trial. 'In Japan, when a prosecutor files an indictment, it is considered a formal request for trial, so prosecutors are said to only indict cases where they are sure to find a guilty verdict,' Kyushu University criminologist Koji Tabuchi told The Straits Times. 'This can be considered an advantage in terms of efficiency,' he said. 'But on the other hand, it can also be a disadvantage in that prosecutors tend to be very insistent on finding a guilty verdict after indictment.' The cases against Mr Hakamada and Ohkawara Kakohki expose this at-all-cost pursuit of convictions. In Mr Hakamada's case, Shizuoka District Court presiding judge Koshi Kunii ruled in the retrial that investigators tampered with evidence by smearing blood on clothing. As for Ohkawara Kakohki, Tokyo High Court presiding judge Teruyoshi Ota in the trial found the entire investigation illegal and built on 'fundamental flaws'. During the trial, an assistant police inspector testified that the probe proceeded 'without objective facts' and was based on the 'personal greed of investigators who were thinking about promotions'. The case came against the backdrop of a heightened focus on economic security, with then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe beefing up export control measures on sensitive materials. The court found that, despite repeated denials, the police and prosecutors distorted evidence and induced the suspects to write statements that could be twisted to sound like admissions of guilt. 'I want to believe that investigative agencies would not fabricate evidence or cases in order to frame innocent persons,' Professor Tabuchi said. 'But it does seem possible that evidence can get destroyed or concealed as they proceed on the basis that the suspect is guilty.' This amounts to more than a miscarriage of justice; at the human level, personal liberties are severely violated . Some, like Mr Aishima, never get to taste freedom again. Others, like Mr Hakamada, suffer mental health trauma from prolonged solitary confinement and the constant fear of execution. 'It is important for victims of wrongful convictions to have an easy-to-use retrial system,' Prof Tabuchi said, noting that Japan's archaic Criminal Procedure Code, enacted in 1948, has never been revised. The current law states that retrials are granted only if there is 'clear evidence' to prove the innocence of the accused – but does not require prosecutors to disclose the evidence that they have. For Mr Hakamada, it had taken 42 years for the courts to reopen the trial that led to his acquittal – a prolonged duration that has prompted a government review of the retrial system. But Prof Tabuchi also noted there is a strong prevailing opinion that Japan's practices do not constitute 'hostage justice' or violate human rights. 'For a long time, we have struggled against an invisible power,' Mr Hakamada's sister Hideko, 92, said on May 30. 'My brother was arrested at the age of 30 and his whole life has been ruined. What was the government doing this whole time?' THREE ONGOING HIGH-PROFILE CASES Concealment of evidence The Nagoya High Court will deliver its judgment on July 18 for the case against Shoshi Maekawa, 59, who has been granted a retrial over the brutal murder of a junior high school girl in 1986. His defence team sought a retrial despite Mr Maekawa having completed a seven-year prison sentence from 1997 to 2004. The hearing was reopened in 2022 after doubts were raised over key testimonies that the defence says were coerced or fabricated, with the judge assailing the prosecution for 'dishonest and sinful misconduct'. Mr Maekawa insists that he had never met the girl, and the police do not have any concrete evidence that pins him to the crime scene. During the retrial, prosecutors made available for the first time 287 pieces of evidence that defence lawyers say prove his innocence. Hostage justice Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, 81, the former chairman of publishing giant Kadokawa, is suing the government for 220 million yen in damages over 'hostage justice'. The octogenarian was arrested and detained for 226 days on bribery charges pertaining to a scandal related to the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2021. He was released on bail in April 2023. Kadokawa pleads innocent in the criminal case that is still before the courts. In the civil lawsuit, he argues that his constitutional rights were violated given his prolonged detention was enforced despite a scheduled surgery he had for chronic heart problems. He has also filed a complaint with the United Nations Human Rights Committee. Derogatory language and insults Mr Yamato Eguchi, 38, a former lawyer, was arrested in 2018 on suspicions of harbouring a criminal and instigating him to lie to law enforcement officials. But he chose to exercise his right to remain silent during his 250-day detention, with the police accusing him of being 'just a child', 'annoying', 'lacking in social skills' and 'a habitual liar' during interrogation. He was given a suspended two-year prison sentence in 2020 . He sued for damages in March 2022, arguing mental distress and a violation of his rights as a suspect to remain silent after he was interrogated for more than 56 hours over 21 days . The District Court granted him 1.1 million yen in damages in July 2024, with the judge finding that the investigators' repeated insults that were unrelated to the case formed a pressure tactic that violated his rights to remain silent. Mr Eguchi appealed, unsatisfied that the judge had not cited the length of interrogation as a psychological tactic in the verdict. The High Court then upheld the 1.1 million yen in damages in February 2025, with the judge finding that the prosecutors had unfairly impugned Mr Eguchi's character. But the High Court did not find any violation of his rights to remain silent, and Mr Eguchi is again appealing the verdict with the case to be brought before the Supreme Court. Walter Sim is Japan correspondent at The Straits Times. Based in Tokyo, he writes about political, economic and socio-cultural issues. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Asahi Shimbun
30-05-2025
- Asahi Shimbun
Hakamata's sister asks for review of Japan's retrial system
The sister of Iwao Hakamata, a former boxer who was acquitted of murder charges after spending decades on death row, is seeking an overhaul of Japan's retrial system to prevent similar miscarriages of justice. Hideko Hakamata, 92, sister of Iwao, 89, who was acquitted last year in a retrial, called for an urgent revision of the law to legal and prosectural officials at a meeting on May 30. The Legislative Council subcommittee, an advisory body to the justice minister, is considering a review of the retrial system. It held the meeting to hear from Hideko, along with Iwao's lawyer and others. 'As a human being, would you consider the fact that Iwao worked so hard for 47 years and seven months?' Hideko asked the subcommittee members. Iwao was arrested and indicted in 1966 for the murder of four members of the family of the managing director of a miso manufacturing company in Shizuoka Prefecture. In 1980, the Supreme Court upheld his death sentence for robbery and murder. The following year, he began his legal fight for a new trial. In 2010, during the second retrial request, color photographs of 'five articles of blooodstained clothing' were included in the disclosed evidence. The photographs subsequently became a major point of contention showing the evidence was likely fabricated at the start of his retrial and acquittal. At this point, however, 29 years had elapsed since the first request for a retrial. 'If (the photographs) had been disclosed sooner, Iwao's suffering would have been shortened,' Hideko said. 'There should be no such thing as hiding what evidence exists. And moreover, it is a matter of a human life.' The Code of Criminal Procedure, which sets forth the procedures for criminal trials, has 509 articles, but only 19 of these relate to retrials. There are no rules on the disclosure of evidence and problems with 'retrial disparity,' which depend on the attitude of the judge in charge of the case, have been pointed out. In Iwao's case, it took 42 years from the first request for a retrial to the decision to initiate a retrial. One of the reasons for the lengthy proceedings was the lack of procedural rules, such as the designation of a date for the retrial. Hideko spoke for Iwao, whose mental illness from his long years of incarceration have made it difficult for him to communicate with her. 'For a long time, it was a struggle against an invisible power," she told the subcommittee. '(We) didn't know who (we) were fighting or for how long. My brother was arrested at the age of 30 and his whole life was ruined. What was the government doing during this time?' She added: 'There is no doubt that the law is inadequate. If what Iwao has struggled with for so long can at least be useful in the form of a revision of the law, I couldn't be happier.'
Saudi Gazette
25-03-2025
- Saudi Gazette
'Record' payout for world's longest-serving death row inmate
TOKYO — A Japanese man who spent nearly 50 years on death row before he was acquitted of murder will be compensated 217 million yen ($1.45m), in what his lawyers say is the country's largest-ever payout in a criminal case. Iwao Hakamata, 89, was found guilty in 1968 of killing his boss, his boss's wife and their two children, but was acquitted last year after a retrial. Hakamata's lawyers had sought the highest compensation possible, arguing that the 47 years in detention — which made him the world's longest-serving death row inmate — took a toll on his mental health. Judge Kunii Koshi, who granted the request on Monday, agreed that he had suffered "extremely severe" mental and physical pain. The Japanese government will pay Hakamata's financial compensation, in what local media is widely reporting as the biggest payout for a criminal case in the country's history. Hakamata's case is one of Japan's longest and most famous legal was granted a rare retrial and released from prison in 2014, amid suspicions that investigators may have planted evidence that led to his September, hundreds of people gathered at a court in Shizuoka, a city on Japan's south coast, where a judge handed down the acquittal — to loud cheers of "banzai", or "hurray" in however, was unfit to attend the hearing. He was exempted from all prior hearings because of his deteriorated mental had lived under the care of his 91-year-old sister Hideko since being granted a retrial and released from prison in 2014. Hideko had fought for decades to clear her brother's was working at a miso processing plant in 1966 when the bodies of his boss, his boss' wife and their two children were recovered from a fire at their home in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo. All four had been stabbed to accused Hakamata of murdering the family, setting fire to their home and stealing 200,000 yen in initially denied doing so, but later gave what he came to describe as a coerced confession, following beatings and interrogations that lasted up to 12 hours a 1968 he was sentenced to years, Hakamata's lawyers had argued that DNA recovered from the victims' clothes did not match his, and alleged that the evidence was he was granted a retrial in 2014, prolonged legal proceedings meant it took until last October for the retrial to case has raised questions about Japan's justice system, including the time taken for a retrial and the allegations of forced confessions. — BBC
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Yahoo
'Record' payout for world's longest-serving death row inmate
A Japanese man who spent nearly 50 years on death row before he was acquitted of murder will be compensated 217 million yen ($1.45m), in what his lawyers say is the country's largest-ever payout in a criminal case. Iwao Hakamata, 89, was found guilty in 1968 of killing his boss, his boss's wife and their two children, but was acquitted last year after a retrial. Mr Hakamata's lawyers had sought the highest compensation possible, arguing that the 47 years in detention - which made him the world's longest-serving death row inmate - took a toll on his mental health. Judge Kunii Koshi, who granted the request on Monday, agreed that he had suffered "extremely severe" mental and physical pain. The Japanese government will pay Mr Hakamata's financial compensation, in what local media is widely reporting as the biggest payout for a criminal case in the country's history. Mr Hakamata's case is one of Japan's longest and most famous legal sagas. He was granted a rare retrial and released from prison in 2014, amid suspicions that investigators may have planted evidence that led to his conviction. Last September, hundreds of people gathered at a court in Shizuoka, a city on Japan's south coast, where a judge handed down the acquittal - to loud cheers of "banzai", or "hurray" in Japanese. Mr Hakamata, however, was unfit to attend the hearing. He was exempted from all prior hearings because of his deteriorated mental state. He had lived under the care of his 91-year-old sister Hideko since being granted a retrial and released from prison in 2014. Hideko had fought for decades to clear her brother's name. One woman's 56-year fight to free her innocent brother from death sentence Mr Hakamata was working at a miso processing plant in 1966 when the bodies of his boss, his boss' wife and their two children were recovered from a fire at their home in Shizuoka, west of Tokyo. All four had been stabbed to death. Authorities accused Mr Hakamata of murdering the family, setting fire to their home and stealing 200,000 yen in cash. Mr Hakamata initially denied doing so, but later gave what he came to describe as a coerced confession, following beatings and interrogations that lasted up to 12 hours a day. In 1968 he was sentenced to death. For years, Mr Hakamata's lawyers had argued that DNA recovered from the victims' clothes did not match his, and alleged that the evidence was planted. Although he was granted a retrial in 2014, prolonged legal proceedings meant it took until last October for the retrial to begin. The case has raised questions about Japan's justice system, including the time taken for a retrial and the allegations of forced confessions. Additional reporting by Chika Nakayama, Gavin Butler and Shaimaa Khalil World's longest-serving death row inmate acquitted in Japan
