SHIZUOKA--Prosecutors said they need until July 10 to decide whether to drop their case against a man trying to clear his name after spending decades on death row in what many believe was an outright miscarriage of justice.

Iwao Hakamada, now aged 87, has consistently maintained his innocence in the 1966 slayings of a family of four in Shizuoka Prefecture. He was sentenced to death in 1968.

In 2014, after a decades-long campaign by supporters, the Shizuoka District Court issued a retrial ruling.

Prosecutors, Hakamada’s legal team and representatives of the Shizuoka District Court met for the first time April 10 after the Tokyo High Court last month finally approved a retrial.

During the meeting held at the district court, prosecutors said they “need three months until July 10” to decide whether to continue arguing that Hakamada was guilty of the murders, according to his lawyers.

The district court accepted the deadline, his lawyers said.

Prosecutors apparently called for breathing space to consider the high court’s decision. In ordering a retrial, the court pointedly suggested that evidence presented by prosecutors more than 50 years ago to prove Hakamada’s guilt was fabricated.

One of the murder victims was an executive of the miso production company Hakamada worked at when he was arrested in present-day Shizuoka city. 

In 2018, the Tokyo High Court revoked the Shizuoka District Court’s ruling for a retrial, only to reverse course last month.

Hakamada’s legal team also submitted a written opinion to the district court on April 10.

In the document, they called on prosecutors to refrain from trying to substantiate Hakamada’s guilt, saying the purpose of the retrial is “to gain an acquittal as soon as possible and free Hakamada from death row.”

His lawyers requested that the retrial proceedings conclude over the course of a single day.

They also called on prosecutors to state in their closing argument during the retrial proceedings that Hakamada should be acquitted and offer him a profound apology.

As prosecutors put off a decision on whether they will continue to seek to prove Hakamada’s guilt at the April 10 meeting, no date will be set for the retrial for the time being.

“(The position taken by prosecutors) is truly regrettable. It is impossible to substantiate his guilt,” Katsuhiko Nishijima, the head of Hakamada’s legal team, said at a news conference held after the meeting.

The law states that for a retrial to be held, there needs to be “clear evidence which should make the court render an acquittal.”

So, when the decision to start a retrial for Hakamada was confirmed, his innocence was effectively proven, according to analysts.

The key point from now on will center on whether prosecutors will continue to argue that Hakamada is guilty.

Also on April 10, Hakamada’s legal team asked the district court to exempt their client from appearing in court for the retrial.

Normally, the first trial proceedings in a criminal case cannot start unless the defendant appears. This is so the individual can state if he or she accepts the charges, listens to the opening statement by prosecutors and answers questions.

But if the defendant is deemed to be mentally incapable of distinguishing between right and wrong or making his or her own decisions, trial proceedings are stopped.

The Code of Criminal Procedure stipulates that when a retrial is for the person who has died or fallen into “a state of insanity with no prospect for recovery,” the proceedings do not need to be halted and can proceed without the defendant appearing in court.

During his 47 years in detention, Hakamada became mentally ill, which his supporters blame on the fact he did not know if the next day was going to be his last.

Execution in Japan is by hanging, which is carried out with little notice.

Lawyers and family members said Hakamada is incapable of holding a proper conversation.

It remains unclear whether he has fallen into “a state of insanity with no prospect for recovery,” but the prospect of appearing in court for a case in which he was handed the death sentence could unquestionably be stressful, experts said.

His legal team asked the district court to treat Hakamada as “a person in a state of insanity” in view of the difficulty of getting him to appear in court.

Representatives of the district court said they would make a decision on the request by the time the three-way meeting, which started April 10, concluded.

“In court, defendants need to have the (mental) capacity to actively argue the charges,” noted Tatsuyuki Shinya, a professor of the Code of Criminal Procedure at Fukuoka University and an expert on retrial cases. “It’s obvious that doing so is difficult for Hakamada, considering his mental state.”

Shinya said he had never heard of a retrial for someone who is deemed to be in a state of insanity.

“The court should be flexible and proceed with the retrial, expecting that Hakamada need not appear,” he added.