1966 murder case triggers calls for revision of Japanese retrial process

With the verdict approaching in the retrial of a sensational 1966 quadruple murder in Japan, calls are growing for a reform of the country's justice system to correct miscarriages of justice more quickly.

Hideko Hakamata hopes for an official acquittal of her 88-year-old brother Iwao Hakamata, who was released ten years after his release from prison due to doubts about the certainty of his conviction. She called for a reform of the retrial process.

“It's not just about saving Iwao,” the 91-year-old said at a press conference in July. “When we were arguing about my brother's case, I felt like the trial would never end. There must be many others crying because they were wrongly convicted.”

Iwao Hakamata spent nearly half a century on death row before new evidence led to his release in 2014. He first filed an appeal and requested a retrial in 1981, but for years he faced a seemingly insurmountable hurdle: prosecutors refused to disclose evidence and opposed a retrial.

The criminal procedural law provides for a new trial to be opened if there is “clear evidence that the accused is not guilty.” However, it lacks provisions on the disclosure of evidence held by prosecutors. This, experts say, hampers efforts to overturn verdicts.

It was not until 2010 that prosecutors, at the urging of the Shizuoka District Court, released key evidence in the Hakamata case. This included color photographs of five bloodstained items of clothing that he was said to have worn during the murder.

In 2014, the Shizuoka Court ordered a retrial, suspended the death sentence, and allowed his release. However, prosecutors appealed the decision, which was upheld by the Tokyo High Court four years later.

Only after the Supreme Court ordered the High Court to reconsider the case and overturned its ruling in March 2023 could a retrial finally take place. Hearings began last October.

After Hakamata's death sentence became final in 1980, his mental state deteriorated significantly. He was excused from attending the retrial, which ended in May of that year. Hideko appeared in his place.

The photo shows Hiroaki Murayama, a lawyer and former chief judge of the Shizoka District Court, in Tokyo on Sept. 17, 2024. (Kyodo)

Hiroaki Murayama, who was presiding judge when the Shizuoka District Court handed down its ruling in 2014 and now works as a lawyer, said momentum for an overhaul of the system had grown as the public watched Hakamata continue to suffer from his mental illness in the decade since his release.

“The unusually long process has led to a disastrous result. The problem is now a humanitarian one,” said 67-year-old Murayama, vice chairman of the Japanese Bar Association's branch that is pushing for an overhaul of the retrial process.

The Bar Association is calling for a change in the law to ensure that evidence held by the prosecution can be freely viewed by those seeking a retrial. It also calls for prosecutors to be prohibited from appealing against a retrial, as they can present their arguments against an acquittal once the retrial has begun.

The Association also recognizes the need to address the issue of what is known as “renegotiation inequality,” where the decision as to whether a case will be retried is largely left to the discretion of the judge.

There are also increasing calls among parliamentarians for a change to the retrial process. In March, a cross-party group was formed to campaign for a change to the system. Originally, there were around 130 MPs, including former Prime Minister Taro Aso. Now there are over 340.

“False accusations are among the worst human rights violations,” Masahiko Shibayama, a lawmaker from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party who leads the group, said at a recent rally in Tokyo.

“With everyone’s enthusiasm and dynamism, we would like to achieve a revision of the Resumption Act,” he said.

Japan's retrial system also lags far behind other countries, Murayama said, noting that some European and Asian countries, including Japan's neighbors South Korea and Taiwan, are working to improve their systems to facilitate retrials.

In the UK, for example, an independent body with extensive investigative powers was set up in the 1990s, which can refer cases back to the courts if necessary.

As a former judge who handled the Hakamata case, Murayama said he had “a responsibility to bring about a change in the system so that a tragedy of this kind does not happen again.”

“Such a change would help to quickly rescue other victims of false accusations, as well as those who may face similar circumstances in the future,” Murayama said. “I believe this would bring Japan a little closer to being a country where people can feel safe with regard to the criminal justice system.”

(Risako Nakanishi contributed to this story)

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