During a murder investigation in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1966, Iwao Hakamada faced not only overly aggressive interrogators but also biased media reports, including those carried by The Asahi Shimbun.

The reporting was primarily based on information obtained from law enforcement, and the stories often described Hakamada as if he were the perpetrator.

The Supreme Public Prosecutors’ Office announced on Oct. 8 that it decided not to appeal Hakamada’s acquittal by the Shizuoka District Court on Sept. 26, 56 years after he was sentenced to death in the case.

Hakamada, a former employee of a miso manufacturing company, was arrested and indicted on charges of murdering four members of a family in 1966 and robbery.

The former professional boxer denied the allegations during his trial, but the Shizuoka District Court found him guilty and handed him the death sentence in 1968.

The Asahi Shimbun carried its first article about the case in the evening edition on June 30, 1966, the day when the bodies were found. Subsequent stories mainly appeared in the local news section.

A July 5 article said bloodstained pajamas, work clothes and other items were discovered from a room in the dormitory of employees, and that “H,” the owner of the articles, was summoned for voluntary questioning.

The article quoted a senior investigator as saying that the blood was not from the victims and that the items would unlikely be directly connected with the incident.

However, the story noted that H had cuts and scratches on his fingers, and he had no provable alibi for a period after 10 p.m. on June 29.

Hakamada’s name appeared for the first time in an article in the evening edition of Aug. 18, the day when prefectural police asked him to voluntarily come to a police station.

The story, headlined “Employee Hakamada Questioned,” said Hakamada was “even smiling” after he was taken to the Shimizu Police Station.

Currently, Japanese newspapers use the word “suspect” after the name of a suspect in a criminal case, but such a practice was not generally followed at the time.

A side story, based on information gained from Hakamada’s acquaintances and other sources, described him as a “sluggish type who was quiet and gloomy.”

Although the article also noted that Hakamada was once considered the top amateur boxer in Shizuoka Prefecture, it said he skipped training sessions and lived a lazy lifestyle.

He was arrested on the night of Aug. 18.

An Aug. 19 story in the city news section said Hakamada stayed completely silent and “kept investigators mystified.”

A story in the local news section said Hakamada “brazenly” told investigators that he had done nothing about which he should be questioned.

An article published on Sept. 7, the day after Hakamada “confessed” to the murders, said he was the perpetrator “as was expected.”

Around 1981, a year after his death sentence was finalized at the Supreme Court, The Asahi Shimbun began featuring supporters’ arguments that Hakamada was wrongly convicted. Articles covered the request for a retrial by defense lawyers and supporters’ activities.

The Asahi referred to Hakamada as “former defendant” or “death-row inmate” after the death sentence was finalized.

Hakamada was released from prison in March 2014, when the Shizuoka District Court decided to open a retrial and suspended the execution of the death penalty.

The Asahi then changed its style to add the honorific “san” (Mr.), used for ordinary persons in Japanese media.

(The Asahi Shimbun on Oct. 9 carried an apology by Yoshiaki Kasuga, managing editor of Tokyo head office, about its past reporting and said the articles included expressions that “lacked the sensitivity to human rights.”)

‘NEVER READ NEWSPAPERS OR WATCHED TV’

The following is a comment that Hideko Hakamada, Iwao’s sister, made in an interview with The Asahi Shimbun about how the media treated her brother:

The media coverage was terrible during the few years after the incident occurred.

Media outlets appeared to assume that Iwao was the perpetrator. I did not read any newspapers, watch TV or listen to the radio because there was no point in complaining about their coverage.

In those days, everyone thought that police stood on the side of justice, and that they would never do anything wrong.

I carry no grudge against the media. But I think that today’s reporters also think that the media coverage was terrible.

Things have recently become a little better thanks to everyone (engaged in current-day reporting). It is up to today’s reporters to fix any problems.

When you become a reporter, you may be immersed in that world. If you join and blend in that world, you are done.

If you have questions, you have to resist. It is no good if you do something “because you are told by the boss.”

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The following is a comment by lawyer Hideyo Ogawa, secretary-general of the team of defense lawyers for Hakamada:

It is a problem that there were media reports that described Hakamada as if he were the perpetrator not only after his arrest but even before it.

I suspect media outlets made such assumptions based on information leaked by investigative agencies or announced at news conferences, without sufficiently confirming its accuracy on their own.

I think they did not change that stance even after facts that contradicted those assumptions emerged.

I expect media outlets not to stand only on one side and instead thoroughly investigate and report news based on the principle of “the benefit of the doubt.”