Murder of family of four Japanese man acquitted 56 years after death sentence

Iwao Hakamada was sentenced to death for murder in 1968. A court acquitted him on Thursday. The 88-year-old had withdrawn a confession and had maintained his innocence for decades.

No one has waited longer for his death sentence, no one has fought longer for his innocence than Iwao Hakamada. In 1968, he was found guilty of murdering an entire family. Today, Thursday, a court in Japan acquits him, as the newspaper "Asahi Shimbun" reports.

A brutal murder took place in 1966 that cost Hakamada his freedom. The victims were a man, his wife and their two teenage children. The father is the director of a miso factory where Iwao Hakamada is working at the time.

Miso is a fermented vegetable, a popular dish in Japan. In a fermentation tank, the police discover clothes smeared with blood, which Hakamada is said to have been wearing when he murdered the four people.

Confession recanted

The job at the miso factory was his first job after he ended his professional boxing career. After his arrest, he confesses to the crime - according to his defense after weeks of brutal interrogation by the police.

In 1968, a court sentenced the then 32-year-old to death. The fight for his innocence begins. His sister, three years older than him, is an important advocate. Amnesty International also campaigned for his release.

In 2014, a court granted a retrial against Hakamada. The reason for this is the suspicion that the investigators may have planted the evidence in the miso tank. Hakamada is allowed to leave death row and prison, but the death sentence has not yet been lifted.

World record: longest time on death row

The prosecution is challenging the quashing of the sentence, and it will take until October 2023 before the new trial can begin.

By then, Hakamada is no longer mentally fit enough to testify in court himself. His sister takes over this role. On Thursday, September 26, 2024, the court in the district of Schizuoka delivers its verdict: Iwao Hakamada is innocent and a free man.

The other side can still appeal against the acquittal. It has not yet been decided whether they will do so.

Having been sentenced to death for 56 years, including 46 years on death row, Hakamada is the person who has been in this situation the longest.

Apart from the USA, Japan is the only high-income country that punishes people with death. It is also considered to be extremely reluctant to retry people who have been sentenced to death. According to the "Japan Times", Hakamada is only the fifth person sentenced to death to have been granted this. The four before him have also been acquitted.