Photo/Illutration The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office in Tokyo’s Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Editor’s note: In previous stories, we have spelled the wrongly convicted individual’s name as “Hakamada.” However, based on the wishes of his family, we will now spell it “Hakamata.”

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The Supreme Public Prosecutors Office on Dec. 26 criticized police and prosecutors over their handling of Iwao Hakamata’s case, saying they presumed he was guilty of murder from the start.

Hakamata, now 88, was convicted of a quadruple murder in 1966, spent decades on death row, and was finally acquitted in a retrial in September.

In a report, the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office stressed that Hakamata’s initial “confession” was not voluntary and was extracted during an oppressive police interrogation.

The report also pointed out that prosecutors failed to maintain independence from the improper questioning by police.

The report concluded that prosecutors appeared to assume Hakamata was guilty in seeking his confession and refused to sincerely listen to the suspect’s statements.

Hakamata retracted the confession at his trial and has since consistently maintained his innocence.

The report underscored the prolonged process facing convicts seeking retrials, saying courts seemed to lack a commitment to their duties.

Hakamata’s first retrial appeal, filed in 1981, took nearly 27 years to process before it was eventually dismissed.

Throughout those years, judges and officials met only once every eight months to discuss the case, according to the report.

During the appeal process, prosecutors rejected the defense’s request to disclose relevant evidence used against Hakamata.

Although the report noted that the prosecutors’ refusal would be viewed negatively from a modern legal standpoint, it stated that the decision was justifiable given the absence of rules requiring disclosure at the time.

To prevent similar miscarriages of justice, the report called for more resources for the Supreme Public Prosecutors Office’s newly established team that is dedicated to the retrial process.

It also stressed the importance of training and educating prosecutors.

The report follows the Prosecutor General’s pledge in October to conduct a thorough review of the Hakamata case, particularly the lengthy retrial proceedings.

Shizuoka prefectural police, who had investigated Hakamata as a suspect in the 1960s, will soon release their own findings on the case.

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