World’s longest-serving death row inmate acquitted in Japan after 50 years – Firstpost

88-year-old Iwao Hakamata, once the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, has been acquitted by a Japanese court, ending a legal saga that spanned more than half a century.

Former boxer Hakamata was convicted of murdering his employer and his family in 1968 and spent 48 years behind bars, much of it on death row.

His story has exposed the deep flaws of Japan’s criminal justice system and sparked renewed debate about the use of the death penalty.

The Iwao Hakamata case

Hakamata’s ordeal began in June 1966, when his employer, a factory manager, was found murdered along with his wife and two children in their home in Shizuoka, Japan. The crime shocked the country, as the family had been stabbed to death and their house set on fire.

Hakamata, who worked at the family’s soybean processing plant, was arrested shortly afterwards and became the prime suspect.

After 20 days of relentless police interrogation, Hakamata confessed to the murders, but retracted the confession during the trial, claiming it was extracted under extreme pressure. He later claimed that the police beat him and threatened him with death to extract an admission of guilt.

Despite his claims, the Shizuoka District Court found him guilty of quadruple murder and arson in 1968. Two of the three judges sentenced him to death, while one judge who believed in his innocence dissented – a fact that would haunt Hakamata’s followers for decades.

45 years too many on death row

Hakamata spent more than 45 years on death row, most of that time in solitary confinement, living under the constant threat of execution. In Japan, prisoners sentenced to death are typically not informed of their execution date until the morning of their execution, adding unimaginable psychological torment to their sentence.

Hakamata’s poor health and mental well-being suffered greatly during his time in prison. According to his sister Hideko Hakamata, now 91, over the years he lost touch with reality and lived “in his own world.”

Despite his imprisonment, Hakamata maintained his innocence, supported by his dedicated sister who fought tirelessly for his release. He filed his first request for a retrial in the 1980s, but it was rejected in 1994 after 27 years of legal battle.

His second appeal, filed in 2008, finally paved the way for a retrial and his release.

New findings give cause for hope

The prosecution against Hakamata was based on two main pillars: his confession and evidence in the form of five bloodstained items of clothing that police said he was wearing during the murders.

These clothes were discovered in a tank of fermented soybean paste (miso) more than a year after his arrest. However, scientific tests conducted decades later revealed disturbing inconsistencies.

In 2014, defense attorneys presented DNA evidence showing that the blood on the clothing did not match Hakamata’s DNA, raising serious doubts about the legitimacy of the original conviction.

In addition, experiments conducted during the retrial showed that clothes soaked in miso for over a year had become so dark that bloodstains would have been impossible to detect, further suggesting that the evidence may have been fabricated.

In addition, the Hakamata pants presented by the prosecution did not fit him when he tried them on in court, raising further doubts about the authenticity of the evidence used to convict him.

In 2014, after years of legal battles, the Shizuoka District Court ordered a retrial and Hakamata was released from prison, although he had not yet been acquitted. His release followed 48 years in prison, 45 of which he had spent on death row.

The case dragged on for another decade, with the Tokyo High Court initially rejecting the request for a retrial in 2018 before Japan’s Supreme Court ordered a reconsideration. In 2023, the High Court finally agreed to a retrial, paving the way for the historic acquittal.

The acquittal exposes Japan’s broken justice system

On September 26, 2024, the Shizuoka District Court acquitted Hakamata, officially overturning his conviction after more than 50 years of litigation.

Judge Koshi Kunii, who presided over the case, ruled that there had been “multiple falsifications of evidence” and acknowledged that Hakamata had been wrongly convicted. With this verdict, Hakamata became the fifth death row inmate in post-war Japan to be acquitted after a retrial.

When the verdict was announced, Hakamata’s supporters, who had gathered in large numbers outside the courthouse, erupted in cheers and chanted “Banzai!” to celebrate his long-awaited freedom.

Despite the happy event, Hakamata’s mental health remains fragile. His sister Hideko expressed relief at his release, but acknowledged that her brother is unlikely to understand the significance of his acquittal after so many years in isolation.

“Sometimes he smiles happily, but then he is in his delusion,” she said. “We haven’t even talked to Iwao about the trial because he can’t see reality.”

Japan’s death penalty comes under scrutiny

The Hakamata case has once again thrown a spotlight on Japan’s death penalty, particularly the importance of confessions in obtaining a conviction.

Human rights groups and legal experts have long criticized Japan’s justice system for its high conviction rate – reportedly over 99 percent – often achieved through confessions extracted under enormous pressure.

Hiroshi Ichikawa, a former prosecutor who CNNstated that in the past, Japanese prosecutors had incentives to extract confessions before gathering solid evidence, often resorting to coercive methods.

“In Japan, especially in the 1960s, investigative authorities were able to commit investigative crimes under the cloak of secrecy,” said Hakamata’s lawyer Hideyo Ogawa.

Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International’s death penalty adviser, described the case as “symbolic of the many problems of the Japanese criminal justice system.”

Despite international pressure, Japan continues to carry out its executions in relative secrecy, without informing prisoners in advance of the date of their execution.

In 2023, there were 115 people on death row in the country, 107 of whom had exhausted their appeals and were about to be executed. Executions are rare but continue to be carried out, often without transparency.

The last execution in Japan took place in July 2022, meaning the country continues to use the death penalty despite growing criticism.

Iwao Hakamata: A Free Man

Although Hakamata’s legal ordeal is finally over, the effects of his long imprisonment are still being felt. Since his release in 2014, he has lived under the care of his sister Hideko, who has dedicated much of her life to proving his innocence.

According to news reports, he leads a quiet life, isolated from the outside world due to his fragile mental state and finding comfort in the company of two cats he adopted after his release.

Despite his mental health problems, Hakamata occasionally goes on outings with his supporters. They take him on trips where he indulges in simple pleasures like buying pastries and juice. “I hope he continues to live a long and free life,” said Hideko, who remains his most passionate advocate.

The Hakamata case has not only drawn attention to the deficiencies in the country’s justice system, but has also sparked a new debate about the future of the death penalty in Japan.

Although Hakamata is now a free man, it is safe to say that the scars of his half-century-long fight for justice will never fully heal.

With contributions from agencies