Iwao Hakamada, an 88-year-old man recognized as the world’s longest-serving death row inmate, has been exonerated by a Japanese court following the discovery that evidence against him was fabricated.
Hakamada spent more than 50 years on death row after being convicted in 1968 for the brutal murder of his employer, the man’s wife, and their two teenage children. The case took a significant turn when Hakamada was granted a retrial amid increasing suspicions that investigators had manipulated evidence to secure his conviction.
This prolonged ordeal has taken a severe toll on Hakamada’s mental health, rendering him unable to attend the court hearing where his acquittal was announced. His case has become one of Japan’s most notorious legal battles, drawing significant public attention and attracting around 500 supporters to the courtroom in Shizuoka on the day of the verdict. As the news broke, supporters joyfully shouted “banzai,” a traditional Japanese expression of celebration.
Since his release in 2014, Hakamada has lived with his 91-year-old sister, Hideko, who has been a tireless advocate for his innocence. Reflecting on his long struggle for justice, he once told AFP, “Once you think you can’t win, there is no path to victory.”
The origins of the case date back to 1966, when Hakamada, a former professional boxer working at a miso processing plant, was accused after the bodies of his employer and the family were found in their burned home in Shizuoka. All four victims had been fatally stabbed, and authorities alleged that Hakamada had committed the murders, set fire to the house, and stolen 200,000 yen.
Initially denying the charges, Hakamada later provided a confession he claimed was coerced after enduring harsh interrogations lasting up to 12 hours a day. In 1968, he was convicted of murder and arson, receiving a death sentence.
The key issue in the decades-long legal battle revolved around a set of clothes found in a tank of miso a year after Hakamada’s arrest. These clothes, alleged to be bloodstained, were central to his conviction. However, Hakamada’s legal team argued that DNA testing showed the samples did not match his, raising the possibility of evidence fabrication.
Judge Hiroaki Murayama noted in 2014 that “the clothes were not those of the defendant.” His ruling acknowledged substantial evidence indicating Hakamada’s innocence, declaring it “unjust to detain the defendant further, as the possibility of his innocence has become clear to a respectable degree.”
Hakamada was subsequently released and granted a retrial, although it took years for the retrial to commence. In 2023, the retrial began, and the court’s findings supported the defense’s claims. The judge ruled that the red stains on the clothes could not be blood, as blood would not retain its color after a year in miso. The ruling also confirmed that investigators had tampered with the clothes, deliberately introducing bloodstains to incriminate Hakamada.
The psychological impact of decades spent in solitary confinement under the constant threat of execution has been profound, according to Hakamada’s family and legal representatives. Hideko has campaigned tirelessly for her brother’s release, expressing relief when the retrial began, stating, “Finally, a weight has been lifted from my shoulders.”
Retrials for death row inmates are exceedingly rare in Japan, with Hakamada’s case marking only the fifth since World War II. Japan remains one of the few G7 nations that still practices capital punishment, where death row inmates are informed of their impending execution just hours in advance.
