Former boxer sentenced to death in Japan will be tried again

The Tokyo Supreme Court has ruled that the trial of former Japanese boxer Hakamata sentenced to death for the murder of four people in 1966 must be reheard.

In the new decision, it was stated that “it is not possible to identify Hakamata as a criminal”, citing the unreliability of the main evidence used to finalize the execution.

In the decision, it was emphasized that the clothing belonging to Hakamata, which was accepted as evidence, would likely be placed in the soybean warehouse where it was seized in the year of the incident, by unidentified persons.

According to the latest court decision, Hakamata, who is now 87 years old, will be retried.

WHAT HAPPENED?

Hakamata was arrested on suspicion of killing four members of the same family with a knife in 1966 while working at a soybean mill in Shizuoka, southeast of Tokyo. Sentenced to death in September 1968 on a series of charges, including murder, Hakamata’s sentence became final in December 1980. In April 1981, Hakamata applied for a new trial, which the Shizuoka District Court rejected in August 1994.

Hakamata appealed to the Tokyo High Court the same year, which the court rejected in August 2004. An extraordinary appeal filed in 2004 was rejected by the Constitutional Court in March 2008.

Hakamata’s sister appealed again in April 2008, and the Shizuoka District Court ruled in March 2014 to reopen her case and release Hakamata from detention.

Hakamata filed a special appeal with the Constitutional Court, which in December 2020 sent the case back to the Tokyo High Court.

The Tokyo Supreme Court, with its new decision, paved the way for Hakamata’s retrial.

“WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR 57 YEARS”

“We have been waiting for this day for 57 years, it is finally here,” Hakamata’s older sister Hideko, 90, said in a statement to the Tokyo Supreme Court.

It was reported that the older sister, Hideko, informed her brother, who lives in Shizuoka, of the new decision over the phone, but did not understand what was said due to Hakamata’s age and health condition.

Hakamata’s lawyer, Ogawa Hideyo, said in a statement that it was remarkable that evidence of clothing, one of the main elements of the case, was considered suspicious by the court. (AA)